Panic as fire engulfs Aero Lagos bound aircraft cabin

• Crew contacted tower, requested emergency landing
• Airline orders probe

A pall of smoke engulfed the cabin of a Lagos bound Aero Contractors aircraft, leading to panic by passengers.

Some of the passengers who spoke to Woleshadare.net said panic gripped virtually all of them thinking the plane was going to crash. They however praised the efficiency of the crew in calming hysteric passengers.

It was learnt that mid-way into the flight, the cabin of the aircraft was filled with thick smoke thereby making passengers to scream loudly.

An amateur video posted online showed passengers screaming and praying loudly while some looked edgy.

The Chief Executive Officer of Aero, Capt. Ado Sanusi has ordered for full scale investigation into incident that appeared like smoke inside the cabin of its Lagos bound flight but the carrier had denied that the lives of passengers were at risk.

“Reports have it that at 1645 GMT about 75NM to Lagos at 24,00 feet, the cabin crew observed that the cabin was misty. This was reported to the Captain, who briefed the passengers accordingly assuring them of a safe landing in Lagos in a couple of minutes.

“Expectedly as announced by the pilot, normal descent was initiated into Lagos.  While descending however, the cabin crew again reported this incident to the Captain and by this time the smoke was getting denser in the cabin.

“Ready and armed with “Aft Cargo Smoke” indication in the flight deck, the crew carried out the smoke dispersal procedures and contacted air traffic control at 1655GMT, requesting for emergency support services and proceeded to Lagos, which is the airport with the full complement of emergency support.

“The Captain also announced to the passengers to be calm as the smoke in question did not present any irritation or discomfort. The aircraft landed at 1703 GMT without any incident.

Tumba said the chief executive officer of the airline, Capt. Ado Sanusi, “has ordered for full scale investigation into the incident.”

He added: “Although the company engineers had carried out the routine systems checks, and reported all normal, Capt. Sanusi who has also reported the incident to the appropriate authorities in the country said another round of thorough investigation was ongoing.

“But the management of Aero said it regrets any inconveniences the incident might have caused its esteemed passengers and assured it will get to

Wole Shadare