Terrifying images show a passenger plane flying with an engine shredded and charred by a mid-air explosion before it successfully managed an emergency landing.
Passengers filmed the shocking view of the Arik Air Boeing 737’s left engine destroyed during a cross-country flight in Nigeria from Lagos to Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
Some of the horrified 80 passengers could be heard screaming as the plane instead made an emergency landing in neighboring Benin, somehow limping to the ground safely on just one engine.
Those on board recalled a loud bang from the left side of the plane while descending, according to the airline and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Board [NSIB], which said the cause is still under investigation, AirDataNews reported.
There were no injuries, but the aircraft experienced significant damage, the board said.
“A preliminary assessment team is en route to Benin to secure the aircraft, document evidence, interview relevant personnel and witnesses, and recover flight data and cockpit voice recorder information,” the agency said in a statement, according to Jam Press.
An Arik Air spokesperson said the airline “sincerely apologizes to the affected … passengers whose journey has been disrupted.”
