62 passengers escape death as plane skids off Port Harcourt airport’s runway

A ValueJet aircraft with 62 passengers skidded off the runway at the Port Harcourt International Airport in Rivers State on Tuesday.

The CRJ 900 Bombardier aircraft with registration 5N-BXR with five crew members onboard reportedly landed at 3:30 p.m., to cause panic among the passengers and airport officials.

The incident occurred 48 hours after a Boeing 737 Jet owned by Aero Contractors crash-landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, ValueJet said the incident occurred after the plane landed on algae on the runway.

READ ALSO: Plane crash lands at Abuja airport, runway shut

However, no casualty was recorded in the accident.

The statement read: “The CRJ 900 Bombardier aircraft with registration 5N-BXR landed safely with passengers wondering what could have happened because the airplane landed safely without difficulty.

“The minor incident happened at about 3.30 pm at the Port-Harcourt International Airport.

“Captain Stanley Balami reported that the aircraft encountered a slip due to algae on the taxi way which made it unable to maintain the centre line.”

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