A Dana aircraft numbered 9J0363, flying from Abuja to Port Harcourt airport has overshot the Port Harcourt runway.

The incident was suspected to have been caused by a heavy rain, which was accompanied by strong wind and storm in Port Harcourt.

The aircraft was still in the bush as at press time from where passengers are being evacuated.

Spokeswoman for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Henrietta Yakubu in a statement made available to newscorner.com.ng attributed the incident to heavy rain, which she said was accompanied by strong wind and storm in Port Harcourt.

Exactly two weeks ago, passengers were aghast in fear when one of the emergency doors of the Dana Air aircraft conveying them fell off on landing at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) swiftly commenced an investigation into the incident.

The Director General of NCAA, Capt Usman Muhtar said, “We have commenced an investigation into the incident. It is through investigation that we will know what actually happened and to prevent such from happening again in the future. We have sent four inspectors to the airline to investigate what happened,” Usman said.

A seasoned pilot who explained that the door could open without anybody fiddling with it, saying this is known as a component failure but dismissed the possibility of the emergency door falling off while the aircraft is airborne.

According to him, the fall might have been caused by a hard landing.

“What happened is likely to be a component failure due to a hard landing. It couldn’t have fallen off when the aircraft was airborne because the aircraft cabin is pressurised. It is very difficult for that to happen but it could fall off when the aircraft is on the ground,” the pilot said.