Four flight attendants and two flight attendants on a United Airlines flight to Washington Dulles were injured when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner suddenly dropped by nearly 200 feet on two occasions in quick succession as it flew over Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa.
United Airlines flight UA613 departed Lagos, Nigeria, just after midnight on January 24 for what should have been a 12-hour flight to Washington DC, but an hour into the flight, the pilots made an emergency diversion back to Lagos.
The main meal service was underway aboard the 12-year-old aircraft when food trays and anything else not strapped down were sent flying into the air as the plane suddenly lost altitude on two separate occasions.
Video taken from inside the cabin showed passengers screaming and gripping onto seats in fear as debris littered the floors and red wine stained the damaged overhead bins.
Onboard the aircraft were 245 passengers, eight flight attendants, and three pilots. As well as the passengers and crew members who had to be taken to the hospital, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria reported that 27 passengers and the five remaining flight attendants sustained minor injuries.
The cause of the sudden loss of altitude has not yet been established, although United Airlines said a “technical issue” was behind the accident.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the airline said in a statement: “Our flight from Lagos, Nigeria to Washington D.C. returned to Lagos after a technical issue and an unexpected aircraft movement.”
“It landed safely in Lagos and four passengers and two flight attendants were seen at a hospital for minor injuries and have been released. We are working with aviation authorities in the U.S. and Nigeria to understand the cause.”
The aircraft involved in the incident remains on the ground in Lagos.
