The Pilot – In –Command(PIC) as well as other crew members of the Port Harcourt-bound Dana aircraft that skidded off the Port Harcourt (PHIA) runway on Tuesday, have been commended for bravery and professionalism.
The commendations were given by both the management of the airline and one of the passengers on board the flight for bringing the aircraft under control and to safety after skidding off the runway in the airport.
A statement issued by the spokesperson of the airline, Kingsley Ezenwa on Tuesday 20 February 2018, acknowledged that an aircraft marked (9j0363) belonging to the airline operating Abuja – Port Harcourt flight skidded off the runway at the Port Harcourt International Airport, as a result of the bad weather situation and torrential rain at the time of landing.
Ezenwa who stated that no casualty was recorded and all passengers and crew disembarked safely, said, “We commend the Pilot-in -Command who was able to control the aircraft to a complete stop, before passengers and crew disembarked. We also wish to applaud the Captain for exhibiting the highest safety standards and handling the situation professionally.
A passenger on board the flight and former governorship candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Bayelsa State, Mr. Famous Daunemigha equally commended the crew for professional handling of the situation
Daunemigha who spoke in a telephone interview telephone interview with Television Continental, monitored by African Business Travel News (ABTN) said, “I must say that the pilot was very brave; he was a very brave pilot. We thank God for his experience
He however called on aviation authorities to ensure that airlines stick to their flight schedules, arguing that if the airline had kept to its scheduled time the incident would had been avoided.
Below is the full interview monitored by ABTN on the TVC channel in Lagos.
“The flight was initially scheduled to leave Abuja by 4pm. We took off 6.10pm from Abuja airport. The pilot informed us that the aircraft will arrive at the PHIA by 6.52pm.
“I observed that there was a lot of thunder and rain; I wasn’t seeing any light from below. The last I can remember was that the pilot was making a call to the Port Harcourt control tower; but there was no response from the control tower. Then we landed. The landed was very smooth; but just as we landed, I was sitting in the emergency exit my seat number was 21c- I just heard a kind of gbuum. All of a sudden we found ourselves struggling; the aircraft was running off the runway. We went very far; thank God that the plane now stopped. This was how I found myself surviving the crash.
“Myself and one person from Benue were the last two persons that came out of the aircraft. No one person was injured, to my notice. But we were traumatized.
“I must say that the pilot was very brave; he was a very brave pilot. We thank God for his experience
“We don’t have our own personal plane. Air crashes occur everywhere. But I feel that most of these things could have been averted if the airlines keep to their time of flight. They are staggering too many flights; that is one of the problems, said Daunemigha.
Meanwhile former Resident Electoral Commissioner *REC( in Ondo and Lagos States, Mr. Akin Orebiyi in a statement to ABTN has called on the management of Dana Air to monitor its operations and arrest the issue of rising incidents involving the airline.
“Dana skids off the runway in Port Harcourt, so reports Channels TV tonight.
If this is true, we should all be asking questions! What is happening to Dana again. This is the third incident in a month,” Orebiyi cautioned,
