Arik Air rubbishes actress Uche Elendu’s crash claims, says airplane landed safely

Arik Air, a Nigerian airline, has issued a statement refuting accusations that one of its planes crashed on Wednesday owing to a technical issue.

Uche Elendu, a Nigerian actress, took to Instagram on Wednesday to recount the episode, which saw her and other passengers return to Lagos after the defective jet was forced to do a U-turn.

“My flight, Arik Air from Lagos to Asaba just crashlanded in a remote area. We were 10 minutes to Asaba but the gear failed and the pilot had to reverse to Lagos. I’m on a 20 minutes bus ride to the terminal now, not a word of apology from the crew,” she alleged.

Footage shared by Uche;

Contradicting Elendu’s claims, the airline in a statement released via their official Instagram page on Wednesday, stated that the said airplane landed safely at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

“One of our dash 8 Q-400 aircraft operating the Lagos-Asaba flight this evening made an air return to base due to a technical issue.

“The aircraft landed safely, and the Pilot in Command, in compliance with safety procedures, decided to disembark the passengers on the airside of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. The aircraft was later taxied to the Arik Air hanger for maintenance action,” the statement read.

Apologising for the inconvenience, the airline claimed it provided a substitute aircraft for the affected passengers.