Officials say 38 people were injured when a United Airlines flight from Nigeria to the capital experienced “unexpected aircraft movement.”
Nigerian officials said 38 people were injured, six of whom were taken to hospital, after a United Airlines flight from Nigeria to Washington, D.C., encountered mid-air problems.
The nature of the emergency isn’t entirely clear, but video verified by NBC News shows the passenger cabin of the Boeing 787-8 in disarray after the crash, with meal trays and food scattered on the floor, and some of the plane’s lining ripped from the top of the plane. The plane. Cabin roof.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria said the United flight departed Lagos at 11:59 p.m. local time Thursday (5:59 p.m. ET). She returned to Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 3:22 a.m. Friday (9:22 p.m. ET Thursday) after an emergency. The agency said “hours” after take-off.
United Airlines said in a statement on Saturday that Flight 613, carrying 245 passengers, eight crew members and three pilots, returned safely to Lagos after “a technical problem and unexpected movement of the aircraft.”
The airline described the six people taken to hospital as four passengers and two flight attendants who suffered minor injuries. The Nigerian Airports Authority said in its report Special statement The six sustained “serious” injuries and were stabilized at medical facilities in the area before being transferred to the Duchess Hospital in Ikeja.
It added that 27 additional passengers and five crew members suffered minor injuries and received first aid before being released “immediately.”
Nigerian Airports Authority He said on X The medical team, “led by high-level administrative staff,” was aware of the situation and prepared before the flight returned.
“The medical team was in direct contact with the pilot before the plane landed in Lagos,” she said, adding that the team and firefighters on the ground were “present and prepared.”
The Airports Authority said that the plane did not suffer serious damage. The plane spent 3 hours and 36 minutes in flight, according to the travel tracking website FlightAware.
An FAA spokesperson said via email on Saturday that information regarding the incident will come from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and United Airlines.
United said it was working with authorities in Nigeria and the United States to help determine what happened.