The Deputy Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Umar Usman Kadafur, along with over 100 passengers, narrowly escaped disaster when a Max Air flight suffered an engine fire shortly after taking off from Maiduguri International Airport.
The incident occurred around 7 p.m. on Wednesday when the aircraft, en route to Abuja, reportedly struck a bird mid-flight, causing one of its engines to catch fire. Amid the ensuing chaos, the pilot and crew successfully executed an emergency landing back at Maiduguri Airport.
“Max Air promptly dispatched a replacement aircraft to Maiduguri to convey the stranded passengers to Abuja. The replacement flight departed Maiduguri at about 11:00 p.m., ensuring minimal disruption to passengers’ travel plans,” he wrote on X.
Zagazola noted that bird strikes are a recognized risk in aviation, particularly during takeoff and landing phases. Airlines are advised to regularly conduct wildlife hazard assessments and implement bird control measures around airports to minimize such occurrences.
It is worth recalling that in July, a Max Air commercial flight carrying 119 passengers and six crew members experienced a complete failure of its rear landing gear during takeoff at Yola Airport.
Last year, as reported by West Africa Weekly exclusively, a series of high-profile safety incidents involving Max Air. This led to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority’s (NCAA) grounding the airline’s Boeing 737 fleet. Despite an audit revealing at least 48 major safety and maintenance violations, the airline was later allowed to resume 737 operations.
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