Obasanjo, 393 Others Escapes Plane Crash On Ethiopian Airline In Lagos

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday escaped what could have ended as a plane crash with Ethiopian Airline in Lagos.

According to NAN, the ex-president was among 393 passengers who were on board an aircraft that found it difficult to land at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

The passenger aircraft, ET-901, had departed the Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, at 9:10 am, Ethiopian time, 7 am Nigerian time.

A NAN correspondent, who was among the passengers, said 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.

On realizing this, the pilot quickly maneuvered the plane back to air, flying out of the Lagos airport.

After hovering around between Lagos and areas suspected to be in Ogun, causing panic among passengers and crew members, the plane landed in Lagos airport, some 20 minutes after the initial false landing.

The atmosphere in the aircraft upon landing was a 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 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.

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.