A passenger, seated close to one of the exit emergency of a Kano-bound Aero Contractor aircraft yesterday caused commotion, as he raised a fire alarm, prompting the plane to be evacuated.
The flight, according to an eyewitness account, was about to take-off when the male passenger suddenly made for the exit door and disembarked, thus causing confusion among other already seated co-travellers, who were left bewildered as the aircraft doors were already closed.
The source told our reporter that panic ensued before officials of the airline asked other passengers to disembark and proceeded to check the plane thoroughly.
While the airline brought another aircraft to transport the passengers to Kano, security operatives at the terminal took the passenger way and detained him.
Spokesperson for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke said it was a false alarm, but said, “Investigations revealed that what the passenger saw was actually smoke from a nearby generator, which was used to power a system not connected to the plane. So, he jumped out through the emergency exit, and all the other passengers were also asked to disembark.”
He said “Eventually, a new aircraft was brought to take the passengers down to Kano, so that they would be at ease, while the passenger who raised the alarm was detained and interrogated”.
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