Nigerian airliner makes emergency landing

LAGOS - A Nigerian commercial airliner with Dana Air on Thursday night made an emergency landing at the Murtala Muhammed Airport after the plane lost hydraulic pressure.

The incident occurred at about 9:30 pm local time (2030 GMT).

Harold Demuren, director-general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, told reporters in Lagos that there was no casualty in the incident.

He said all the passengers were evacuated from the aircraft, which was towed away from Runway 19R.

A spokesperson for the airline, Tony Usidamen, said the McDonell Douglas 83 (MD-83) aircraft, which had 86 passengers onboard, flew in from Southeast Nigeria's Akwa Ibom.

He said that when the pilot noticed the problem, he contacted the airport's control tower for an emergency landing.

"The aircraft landed safely on Runway 19R and no passenger was injured. All the passengers were evacuated safely," he added.

"Similarly, no damage was done to the aircraft," he said.