A Dana Air plane today disembarked its passengers after it got stuck on the threshhold of the Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri as the MD 83 aircraft was planning for take-off.

The Dana flight was about taking off to Lagos from Owerri when the incident occurred.

Investigations show that the 3pm Lagos bound aircraft had fully loaded its passengers and was about take to the air when a technical malfunction was noticed in the Dana Air craft.

A source at Dana Air who confirmed the development said the airline provided another aircraft and have since picked the passengers.

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The source who was yet to confirm the cause of the incident said passengers have reached their destinations and the issue has been sorted out.

BusinessDay’s checks show that after the incident, the runway was blocked so that no plane could land or take-off for some minutes.

The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) mobilized buses and other vehicle to go to the grounded plane and ferry passengers back to the departure lounge.

FAAN buses and Air Peace buses were among the buses and vehicles that were used to evacuate passengers before the craft was moved out of the runway.

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.

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