A United Airlines flight from Nigeria was forced to make an emergency landing after six people were injured following an unexpected mid-air jolt.
Washington, DC-bound flight 613 was diverted back to Lagos after a technical issue and an unexpected aircraft movement on Friday, according to the airline.
The Boeing 787-8 aircraft with 245 passengers, eight flight attendants and three pilots on board departed late Thursday night.
FlightRadar24 data showed the plane dipping abruptly from cruising altitude 93 minutes after takeoff, according to CNN.
Footage reportedly captured by passengers showed chaos on the aircraft with food, trays and personal items scattered across the aircraft.
‘It landed safely in Lagos and four passengers and two flight attendants were seen at a hospital for minor injuries and have been released,’ a United Airlines spokesperson said.
It is unclear what caused the sudden movement, but United said they are working with aviation authorities in the U.S. and Nigeria to understand the cause.
Flight tracking data showed the same aircraft on the same journey from Lagos to Washington’s Dulles International Airport had previously been diverted on Tuesday.
A United Airlines flight from Nigeria was forced to make an emergency landing after six people were injured following an unexpected mid-air jolt
Footage reportedly captured by passengers showed chaos on the aircraft with food, trays and personal items scattered across the aircraft
That flight rapidly dropped 1,000 feet approximately 89 minutes into the flight and was diverted to Accra, Ghana. It is unknown if the two diversions are related.
Last week, a Cathay Pacific flight from Boston was forced to make an emergency landing after smoke in the cabin was reported minutes after take off.
Flight CX811, an A350-1000 bound for Hong Kong, stopped climbing at around 5,000ft, according to aviation news site Air Live.
The crew declared an emergency around shortly after it departed from Boston Logan International Airport at 2:04 a.m. EST.
The flight then held over Massachusetts Bay to dump fuel before returning to BOS Airport, according to reports.
Flight trackers show it looping around multiple times off the east coast before making its way back.
Air traffic controllers cleared it for landing at the airport a little more than an hour after it took off, and it was met by emergency vehicles after landing.
Massport, the Massachusetts Port Authority, said that the plane landed ‘without incident’, but gave no further information.
Liquid splashed the overhead bins on United Airlines Flight 613 following an unexpected movement and technical issue
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Cathay Pacific said the flight ‘made a precautionary flight return to Logan International Airport in accordance with standard procedures following a report of smoke in the cockpit and cabin shortly after take-off.
‘The aircraft landed normally at 03:31 (local time) and returned to the gate where our engineers are now investigating and performing inspections. No injuries among our customers or crew were reported.’