United Airlines passenger jet plummets moments after take-off leaving several injured
United Airlines passenger jet plummets moments after take-off leaving several injured
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At least six people have been injured after a United Airlines plane jolted and plummeted mid-air following take-off in Nigeria, forcing an emergency landing. The Washington DC-bound flight 613 had taken off from Lagos on Friday when it suffered a technical issue about an hour and a half in, creating a sudden violent jolt which left several passengers injured. Footage showing the chaos on board details food trays strewn down the aisle of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft, which had 245 passengers and 11 crew on board at the time.
The plane had been in the air for 93 minutes when it jolted, with data from FlightRadar showing its altitude dipped suddenly, CNN reports. Six people on board had to be taken to hospital, the airline said, after it was diverted back to Lagos. A United Airlines spokesperson said: "[The flight] landed safely in Lagos and four passengers and two flight attendants were seen at a hospital for minor injuries and have been released." The cause of the jolt is currently unknown, although United has said it was not severe turbulence. An investigation is underway with aviation authorities to determine what happened.
United spokesperson Leslie Scott confirmed that all six injured - which included four passengers and two of the plane's eight cabin crew - had since been released from hospital. The same flight to Washington's Dulles International Airport had been diverted three days prior on Tuesday, FlightRadar data shows. Data from that flight showed there was a rapid fall in altitude of 1,000ft around 89 minutes into the flights. It's unclear however whether these two incidents were related.
