Obasanjo, NACCIMA DG, 391 others escape crash aboard Ethiopian Airlines
http://www.hrlnews.com/2019/05/obasanjo-naccima-dg-391-others-escape.html
Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo and 393 others aboard an
Ethiopian Airlines plane, escaped crash on Wednesday at Murtala Mohammed
International Airport.
Obasanjo who was reported to have been absent from the inauguration
ceremony of President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term, escaped
crashing in the plane.
Other prominent Nigerians in the
Ethiopian airline passenger aircraft, Boeing 777-300, included the
Director General of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce,
Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) Amb. Ayoola Olukanni.
Also in the plane was Prof Samson
Tunde Adebayo, the Director of Ports Inspection, National Agency For
Food And Drug Administration And Control (NAFDAC) as well as scores of
Nigerians and other nationals.
The passenger aircraft, ET-901, had
departed the Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, at about 9:10
a.m., Ethiopian time; 7 a.m Nigerian time.
A NAN correspondent, who was among the
passengers, reported that the almost 5-hour flight from the Ethiopian
capital to Lagos had been smooth until the pilot attempted to land at
the Murtala Mohammed International airport.
Rather than landing on the first touch
line of the runway, the pilot over short it, due to rain and heavy
wind, landing on the third touchline.
NAN reports that on realising this, the pilot quickly maneuvered the plane back air, flying out of the Lagos airport.
After hovering between Lagos and areas
suspected to be in Ogun, causing panic in passengers and crew members,
the plane finally landed in Lagos airport, some 20 minutes after the
initial false landing.
The atmosphere in the air bus upon
landing was replica of what is obtainable in some Nigerian worship
centres, as many passengers broke out into worship songs and clapping,
while some fell to their knees in prayer.
Officials of the NCAA were unable to confirm the incident as the
General Manager, Public Relations of the agency, Mr Sam Adurogboye, said
there was no report of any incident in Lagos so far while the General
Manager, Public Relations, Accident Investigation Bureau, Mr Tunji
Oketunbi, said he had not received any incident notification from any
airline.
NAN checks from the Control Tower also gave the same report.
But the Duty Manager and Chief Customer Service (Nigeria) of the
airline, Mr Otori Otan, told NAN that if the pilot had continued taxing
down after landing on the third touch line, he would have overshot the
runway.
“But this is an experienced pilot. He realised this immediately.
“Fortunately, the distance between
when he realised the situation still permitted him to take off and
renegotiate landing,” Otori said.
He added that the incident was not out of place, while confirming that the wind obscured the pilot’s vision.
Otori also disclosed that most of the
aircraft that flew out of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport had
to fly against the mid day heavy wind.
“These things happen. That is where the sophistication of the aircraft and experience of the cabin crew members come in.
“The aircraft is one of the best you can have around and we are fortunate to have pilots who know their onions ” he said.
Furthermore, Mr Ikechi Uko, Media Consultant to Ethiopian Airline,
confirmed that the aircraft had a “missed approach” while about landing
due to poor visibility caused by inclimate weather.
“The aircraft thereafter made an air return before it proceeded to land successfully .”
He said the pilot’s effort was in line with the Safety and Recommended Practices (SARPS) in aviation
Obasanjo and Olukanni had both
attended a Stakeholders Dialogue on Continental Trade and Strengthening
Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)
which ended on Tuesday in Addis Ababa.