Former President Olusegun Obasanjo escaped a plane crash alongside and 392 others today while aboard an Ethiopian Airlines plane, during President Buhari’s inauguration was ongoing.
The passenger aircraft, ET-901, had departed the Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, at about 9.10 am, Ethiopian time; 7 am Nigerian time.
A NAN correspondent, who was among the passengers, recalled that the almost 5-hour flight from the Ethiopian capital to Lagos had been smooth until the pilot attempted to land at the Murtala Muhammed International airport.
Rather than landing on the first touchline of the runway, the pilot over short it, due to rain and heavy wind, landing on the third touchline.
NAN reports that, on realizing this, the pilot quickly maneuvered the plane back air, flying out of the Lagos airport.
After hovering around between Lagos and areas suspected to be in Ogun, causing panic in passengers and crew members, the plane landed in Lagos airport, some 20 minutes after the initial false landing.
The duty manager and Chief Customer Service (Nigeria) of the airline, Mr. Otori Jimoh Otan, told NAN that if the pilot had continued taxing down after landing on the third touchline, he would have overshot the runway.
“But this is an experienced pilot. He realized this immediately. “Fortunately, the distance between when he realized 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 midday 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.
