An Air Peace aircraft was attacked by burglars at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) on Thursday, February 8.
It was reported that the burglars opened the cargo hold of the aircraft, a Boeing 737, while taxiing to take off.
- The burglars were said to have opened the cargo hold of the aircraft, a Boeing 737, while taxiing to take off
- This led to delay in departure as security check was conducted on the aircraft before it was eventually allowed to depart the airport
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There was a security scare at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) in Lagos on the night of Thursday, February 8, as burglars attacked Air Peace aircraft at the airport while it was taxiing to take off to Abuja.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737 was attacked at 7:35 pm by unknown bandits on the domestic runway of the airport, Sahara Reporters reports.
We gathered that a source close to the scene revealed that suspected burglars opened cargo hold of Air Peace Flight 7138 taxiing for departure on Runway 18R (A1) of the Lagos airport.
The incident was confirmed by Air Peace communication manager, Chris Iwarah.
It was learnt that the forced opening of the cargo of the aircraft led to delay in the departure of the aircraft for close to two hours as security operatives attached to the airport carried out a comprehensive search on the airplane before being allowed to depart the airport.
Iwarah said: “We are sincerely grateful to all our wonderful guests on board Flight 7138 for their support, patience and cooperation throughout the precautionary security checks conducted by Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) squad, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Aviation Security (AVSEC) and our security team after suspected thieves opened the cargo hold of our aircraft taxiing for departure on Runway 18R (A1) of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos at about 7.35pm on Thursday, February 08, 2018.
“Pilot-in-Command, Captain Adesola Arasi had to contact control tower when he was alerted by the light that came on in the cockpit suggesting that the cargo hold was opened for about 15 seconds and immediately shut.
“In line with our high security standards and the huge value we place on the lives of our guests and crew, Captain Arasi insisted on having EOD squad check Flight APK 7138 before takeoff to be doubly sure nothing was deposited in the cargo hold by the suspected thieves to endanger the lives of our guests and crew.
“Our guests, who were fully briefed of the development by the pilot-in-command, were advised to disembark from the aircraft and board an Air Peace bus while the joint security operation by EOD, FAAN, AVSEC and our security team lasted. The Lagos-Abuja flight was cleared by the security experts after an exhaustive screening of the aircraft lasting about 30 minutes.
“The flight eventually took off at 9.30pm and safely landed in Abuja at about 10.23pm. Our satisfied guests commended the professionalism of Capt. Arasi and his team as well as the high safety standards of Air Peace."
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Meanwhile, We previously reported that about 105 passengers reportedly escaped death as a Boeing 737 aircraft belonging to Air Peace suddenly suffered a burst tyre while preparing for take-off at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
It was reported that incident which happened on Monday, February 27, 2017, forced the pilot to abort the flight which was on its way to Abuja, the country's capital.
The spokesman said: “The incident happened around 11 a.m. as the aircraft was about to take off. The pilot immediately turned around and the passengers were disembarked.
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