Plane carrying 600 pilgrims crashlands in Niger state

Plane conveying over 600 pilgrims returning from the 2019 annual pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia crash landed at the Minna International Airport.

The aircraft, a Boeing 744 with registration number 5N/ DBK was said to have developed technical fault in one of the plane’s four engines when it approached the Minna airport.

A Source at the airport who confirmed the incident to newsmen said that no one was injured or died in the incident but the passengers were visibly shaken over the incident.

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Evidence of the crash landing of the plane could be seen as part of the tarmac and some materials were damaged when the aircraft skidded off the runway.

Hajia Hassana Isah, the Public Relations Officer of the Niger state Pilgrims Welfare Board, when contacted also confirmed the incident but did not give further details.

It was gathered that five officials of the Accident Bureau of Investigation from Lagos had arrived the airport some hours after the incident and had inspected the partly damaged aircraft after which they went into a closed door meeting with the management of the airport.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.