A Nigerian carrier, Arik Air, has said its Boeing 737-700 aircraft operating flight W3 720 from Lagos to Abuja, on Thursday morning, experienced an air return, otherwise known as turn back, due to a potential fire indication resulting from a false alarm.

An air return is a situation in which an aircraft returns to land at the departure aerodrome without planning to do so.

According to the management of the airline, the incident, which prompted the captain of the flight to adhere to standard operating procedures, occurred approximately 10 minutes after take-off.

The management, however, stated that investigations carried out by its maintenance team after the turn back showed that the indication light was triggered by a false alarm.

The statement reads: The incident occurred approximately 10 minutes after takeoff, prompting the Captain of the flight to adhere to standard operating procedures by initiating an air return and requesting priority landing clearance from the Control Tower.

Upon landing safely in Lagos, passengers were disembarked and the aircraft underwent thorough inspections to ensure its airworthiness for future flight operations.

Subsequent investigation by our maintenance team determined that the indication light was triggered by a false alarm. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience experienced by our esteemed passengers as a result of this incident, it added.(Courtesy, excluding headline, Vanguard)