Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and other Nigerians escaped death on Wednesday at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos when an Ethiopian Airlines plane in which they travelled almost crashed, News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports.
Other prominent Nigerians in the Ethiopian airline passenger aircraft, Boeing 777-300, included Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni, director general of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA, Prof. Samson Tunde Adebayo, director of Ports Inspection, National Agency For Food And Drug Administration And Control, NAFDAC, and others nationals.
The 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, 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 Mohammed 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 realising this, the pilot quickly manouvered the plane back air and flew out of the Lagos airport.
After hovering around 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 atmosphere in the airbus 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 on their knees in prayer.
Mr Otori Jimoh Otan, duty manager and chief customer service (Nigeria) of the airline, 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 realised this immediately.
“Fortunately, the distance between when he realised the situation still permitted him to take off and renegotiate landing,” he 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.