Nigeria flight delayed by cracked windscreen en route to Uyo

The Nigeria national football team’s flight to Uyo was delayed on Saturday after the charter aircraft developed a cracked windscreen shortly after takeoff from a refuelling stop in Luanda, Angola, forcing the pilot to return to Luanda for safety checks. The Nigeria Football Federation said the incident occurred as the delegation travelled from Polokwane, South Africa, to Uyo for Tuesday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Benin Republic. No injuries were reported and the team arrived in Uyo on Sunday morning.

The ValueJet charter carrying players and officials had stopped to refuel in Luanda and developed the crack midair on departure, the federation said. The pilot returned the aircraft to Luanda without incident. ValueJet, working with federal authorities including the ministries of aviation and foreign affairs and the Office of the Chief of Staff, arranged a replacement aircraft to pick up the delegation in Luanda and continue to Uyo. Super Eagles media officer Promise Eforge said, “We are all fine and all is well with the team.”

Officials noted the same aircraft had been used on previous legs of the qualifying campaign, including trips to and from Bloemfontein and a...