Four passengers and two crew members were injured on Friday when a United Airlines flight, travelling from Lagos, Nigeria to Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia, experienced a sudden in-flight jolt.
The incident, confirmed by the airline, resulted in chaos on board, with trays, food, and other items scattered across the cabin.
The airline revealed that Flight 613, was forced to make an emergency return to Lagos, where the six injured individuals were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital. However, the jolt was not caused due to turbulence and the airline is now working with aviation authorities in the US and Nigeria to investigate the cause.
United Airlines spokesperson, Leslie Scott, confirmed that all those injured have since been released from medical care.
Flight data from FlightRadar24 revealed that the aircraft began a sudden descent from cruising altitude roughly 93 minutes after takeoff, dropping approximately 1,000 feet in just a minute, reported by news agency CNN.
This is not the first time Flight 613 has been involved in a disruption as the same plane was diverted earlier this week on Tuesday, raising concerns about whether the two incidents are connected.
The flight on Friday was carrying 245 passengers, eight flight attendants, and three pilots. United Airlines confirmed making arrangements to rebook affected passengers on alternative flights.
Michael Achimugu, director of public affairs at Nigeria’s Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has confirmed that there were no fatalities in the incident. Passengers have been accommodated in hotels following the emergency landing.
The incident has drawn attention due to a similar event involving a Boeing 787 last year, when a Latam Airlines flight suffered a mid-air dive, following which, Boeing issued an advisory to airlines operating the Boeing 787, suggesting them to carry out inspection in the cockpit seat switches.
