United Airlines flight from Lagos, Nigeria, to Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia met with “unexpected” turbulence that injured six people on board.
According to CNN, four passengers and two crew members got injured on Friday, January 24, 2025, after sudden in-flight movement, which triggered an emergency landing.
United said in a statement to USA TODAY, “Our flight from Lagos, Nigeria, to Washington, D.C., returned to Lagos after a technical issue and an unexpected aircraft movement. It landed safely in Lagos, and four passengers and two flight attendants were seen at a hospital for minor injuries and have been released. We are working with aviation authorities in the U.S. and Nigeria to understand the cause.”
Moreover, flight data from FlightRadar24 showed that Flight 613, which was carrying 245 passengers, eight flight attendants, and three pilots, suddenly dropped from the normal flying height around 93 minutes after taking off.
Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at Nigeria’s Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu, via state-run Radio Nigeria, informed that the passengers were accommodated at the hotels after the emergency landing.
Notably, the FlightRadar data also revealed that the same plane, flying from Lagos to Washington’s Dulles International Airport, had a problem after it abruptly dropped about 1,000 feet after 89 minutes into the flight. However, it is unclear whether the diversion of UA613 was related or not.
