Commotion as man climbs aircraft at Lagos Airport

Authorities at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport [MMIA] have arrested a yet-to-be-identified man for climbing the fuselage of an aircraft.

The man was said to have beaten the securities on duty to gain access to the apron after which he climbed the parked aircraft through the dude to hang at the compartment housing the fuel tank.

The aircraft which had passengers on board was parked at the apron preparatory for taxing through the taxiway into the runway for take-off.

Officials of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN) said the man has been arrested and taken to an isolated area around the Lagos Airport called Tango City.

The incident provoked questions about the porosity of the Lagos Airport where rising cases of stowaways and other unauthorized activities are commonplace.

It has also raised concerns about the vulnerability of the premier gateway without adequate perimeter and security fences.

Airport sources could not immediately ascertain the reason for the man’s action.

Air Peace, however, said the man was a stowaway who thought the plane was heading overseas.

The airline in a statement said the suspect was being held by the industry regulator for further investigation.

The Air Peace statement read in part,

“This morning, at exactly 9:10 at the MMA1 Lagos, an Owerri – bound Air Peace aircraft was taxing towards the threshold for take-off, when a man, in his twenties, emerged from the bush along the runway and tried to gain access into the aircraft through the wheel-well.

“There was a private jet behind the aircraft. The pilot-in-command of the private jet informed the Air Peace pilot-in-command that a young man obviously in his twenties, was trying to force his way into the aircraft.

“The security wing of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria was alerted and the man was accosted and whisked away. He is currently in the regulator’s custody. When interrogated on why he took the action, the man stated that he thought the aircraft was headed overseas.”