Airplane hit by truck in Lagos airport

An Arik Air aircraft scheduled for a Lagos to Port Harcourt flight had to be grounded after it was hit by a truck on the ramp at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

According to a statement released by the airline, the Boeing 737-700, marked 5N-MJJ, sustained damage when it was bumped into by the ground handling equipment of the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL).

Another aircraft was provided by the airline to cater to the passengers while engineers fixed the damage suffered by the plane.

Another aircraft, also belonging to Arik, was grounded shortly before take-off after it suffered a technical issue during pre-departure procedure at the Sam Mbakwe Airport in Owerri, Imo.

Both incidents were reported to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in line with standard operating procedure.

The airline's statement read, "Arik Air has reported incidents involving two of its aircraft on Sunday, March 18, 2018, to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). This is in line with standard operating procedure and the airline’s high safety standards.

"The first incident involved a Boeing 737-700 marked 5N-MJJ which was bumped into by the Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL) step on the ramp at MMA2.

"The aircraft, which was scheduled to operate W3 744 (Lagos-Port Harcourt), had its left side leading edge of horizontal stabilizer damaged. Another aircraft was provided immediately for the Port-Harcourt bound passengers. Our team of engineers later fixed the damaged aircraft which has since returned to service.

"We apologize to our customers on the flight for the inconveniences they might have experienced as a result of the incident. We remain committed to our safety policy, high operating standard and customer service."

Arik Air avoids crash in Ghana

The airline was recently involved in a scare when its aircraft, a Dash 8 Q400, was forced to make an emergency landing in Ghana after the pilot discovered smoke in the cabin while flying from Lagos to Accra, Ghana's capital, on March 6, 2018.

The aircraft developed the mysterious problem while it was still several miles away from its destination and was forced to land without any problems.

The incident followed recent near mishaps in Nigerian aviation as two high profile incidents involving Dana Air has prompted a backlash from the public and the government.