A disaster was averted at Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Wednesday, May 29, as 393 passengers, including former president Olusegun Obasanjo, escaped a plane crash.
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) Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni.
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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 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 theMurtala Muhammed International airport.
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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 manouvered 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.
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The atmosphere in the air bus upon landing was replica of what is obtainable in some Nigerian worship centers, as many passengers broke out into worship songs and clapping, while some fell to their knees in prayer.
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 touch line, he would have overshot the runway.
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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, May 28, in Addis Ababa.
A former minister of aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode in a tweet on Wednesday, May 29, also confirmed that the plane conveying Obasanjo almost crashed.
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