An Airbus A330-243 operated by Middle East Airlines (MEA) with registration number OD-MEA smashed onto a Boeing 777 aircraft with registration number TC-LJC owned by Turkish Airlines in Lagos, Nigeria on 29th July 2020. Groundworkers, who had been on duty at the time, further said the incident happened while the OD-MEA registered MEA A330-200 was being pushed back from its gate.
It remains uncertain quite how it happened, but preliminary sources indicate that perhaps the ground staff turned the A330 too early, resulting in a collision with the Turkish B777-300 / ER (registered TC-LJC). The particular aircraft might carry 244 passengers.
One airline employee did not accept, nevertheless, that perhaps the Middle East Airlines (MEA) pilots were not aware of their surroundings. They said that the crews had been in regular communication with the ground personnel at the time. The employee said it was due to incompetence on the part of the MEA pilots.
🇱🇧 MEA and 🇹🇷 Turkish airlines planes crashed in Lagos, Nigeria 🇳🇬 pic.twitter.com/hSsVtLLzhr
— INTELSky (@Intel_Sky) July 29, 2020