An Arik flight on Sunday averted belly landing after gear malfunction.
A belly landing or gear-up landing occurs when an aircraft lands without its landing gear fully extended and uses its underside, or belly, as its primary anding device.
According to a passenger who pleaded to remain anonymous, a looming disaster was averted after the aircraft, 5NBKX DH8D, ARA710 DNMM–DNAA with POB 62-05 had problem with its landing gears.
The aircraft which left Lagos at about 6:45am couldn’t land in Abuja until around 10:00am.
“It was like a movie…we could see the fire services ambulance and cars rushing to runway,” our witness said.
“Immediately we landed, the plane ceased to move and thats how we made it. After hovering in the sky forever, we eventually landed at 9:45am after taking off at 6:45″.
Our source further revealed that the aircraft was asked to pass for tower observation and it detected that her landing gears appear to be down.
Hence, the aircraft was advised appropriately and landed Runway 22 at 0734.
This incident comes just two months after Arik Air’s aircrafts were said to be unsafe and in very bad condition.
Recall that in 2018, the company’s flight from Lagos to Accra declared an emergency when smoke was detected in the cabin.
The incident occurred 80 miles (130 kilometres) from the Ghanaian capital but the plane landed safely in Accra without further incident.
