Max Air Plane Conveying Borno Deputy Gov, Others In Emergency Landing

• Reports blame suspected bird strike

A suspected bird strike on Wednesday caused an Abuja bound plane, Max Air, to make an emergency landing at the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport in Maiduguri, Borno State, due to a sudden damage to its engine. 

Officials reported that Borno State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Umar Usman Kadafur, was among the over 100 passengers that narrowly escaped an air disaster, as the plane successfully landed back at the airport.

According to the officials, the incident occured about 10 minutes after the plane took off from the airport.

One of the airline official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said another plane was immediately dispatched from Lagos to fly the passengers to Abuja from the Borno state capital and ensure minimal disruption of their traveling arrangements

The official, while confirming the near fatal incident, said; “About 10 minutes after the take off, the Aircraft hit a bird in the sky, which led to one of the engines being severely damaged.

“Engineers were deployed from Kano, and they have been working to fix the aircraft”.

Contacted on the development, the Manager of Max Air in Maiduguri, Mr Musa Bawuro, confirmed being aware of the incident, but refused to make any official comment until he received detailed briefs on what actually transpired.

“Please give me some time to find out from the flight’s captain”, Bawuri responded to further enquiries.

However, he praised the swift response by the pilot and airport authorities for ensuring the safety of all passengers and crew on board.

Meanwhile, reports from Zagazola Makama, a counter-terrorism and insurgency expert focused on the Lake Chad region, said a bird strike severely damaged one of the aircraft’s engines, adding that the pilot acted swiftly, safely returning the plane to base at the airport without any injuries reported.