United Airlines flight makes emergency landing after experiencing mid-air jolt - with at least six injured

27 January 2025, 11:44 | Updated: 27 January 2025, 12:25

A United Airlines jet was forced to make an emergency landing after plummeting mid-air following take-off.

At least six people were injured after the plane jolted during the flight from Nigeria on Friday.

The flight, which was heading from Lagos to Washington DC, had 245 passengers and 11 crew on board at the time.

Footage shared online showed chaos unfolding, with food trays and personal items scattered down the aisle following the incident.

A technical issue is understood to have been behind the sudden dip in altitude 93 minutes into the flight.

The plane was then forced to turn around and head back to Lagos.

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A United Airlines spokesperson said: "[The flight] landed safely in Lagos and four passengers and two flight attendants were seen at a hospital for minor injuries and have been released."

All of those injured have since been released from hospital.

The cause of the incident is still unknown, but United has confirmed that it was not severe turbulence.

An investigation has since been launched with aviation authorities to determine what happened.

It comes after the same aircraft on the same journey from Lagos to Washington’s Dulles International Airport was also diverted on Tuesday.

Flight tracking data showed the plane drop 1,000 feet approximately 89 minutes into the flight.

It remains unclear if the two incidents were related.