A United Airlines B-787/8 Dreamliner plane, which took off last Friday from the "Muhammed Murtala" international airport in Lagos, Nigeria, bound for Washington-Dulles airport, while en route to the Ivory Coast due to strong turbulence, was affected by a series of sudden losses of altitude that caused injuries among the 256 on board. The incident occurred "after meals had been served, when we all had our seat belts unfastened", testified one of the passengers, who said he fainted after violently hitting the ceiling of the aircraft.

The captain, after declaring an emergency, then reversed course and landed in Lagos where, according to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, six seriously injured people were counted (four passengers and two crewmembers), while another 27 passengers and five crewmembers suffered minor injuries.