Arik speaks on emergency landing in Accra

An Arik flight from Lagos to Accra, Ghana, made an emergency landing on Tuesday when the pilot detected a smoke in the cabin, the airline said in a statement on Thurday.

There was, however, no incident and the passengers disembarked normally, the airline’s spokesman, Adebanji Ola, said.

The statement, made available to TheCable, read: “Arik Air flight W3 304 from Lagos to Accra on March 6, 2018 declared an emergency in line with standard operating procedures, when unknown source of smoke was detected in the cabin 81 miles from Accra.

“The captain of the flight briefed the passengers accordingly assuring them that the aircraft was under control and safe for landing in Accra.

“The aircraft, a Dash 8 Q400, landed safely in Accra without further incident and all passengers disembarked normally.

“The aircraft is currently parked in Acrra and our team of engineers are conducting comprehensive inspections on the aircraft to ascertain the cause of the smoke, after which the aircraft will be flown without passengers to a maintenance facility for rectification and testing.

“The relevant aviation authorities in Ghana and Nigeria have been briefed appropriately on the incident.”

A passenger on board had been circulating messages on social media that the aircraft caught fire, but the airline has denied the report.