Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday shared his experience on the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 777-300 which was reported on Wednesday to have escaped crash at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos, because of bad weather.
Dr. Obasanjo was among the 293 passengers, who include the Director-General Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Ambassador Ayo Olukaniwere, and crew aboard the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 777-300 which flew from Addis Ababa to Lagos.
National Daily learned that the former Nigerian President and the NACCIMA DG had attended a stakeholders’ meeting on Continental Trade and Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) which ended Tuesday, May 28, 2019 at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and were on their way back home.
National Daily also learned that Dr. Obasanjo in a media interaction had said that there was nothing unusual about the flight. Though, his aide was said to have claimed that the former President was not to be on flight.
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Former President Obasanjo, however, stated that was not perturbed by the momentary landing confusion.
National Daily learned that Dr. Obasanjo had narrated: “I was on the Ethiopian Airline. Rain just came down heavily.
“The pilot thought he could land. And he landed. He touched down. But I think he took a swift decision that he had to take off again.
“So, he took off. If he did not, I think he probably would have overrun the runway.
“He, then, apologised and said he would try to land again. He tried again, and we landed safely. And we all clapped.”
Ayodele Iyke-Ibeh
May 30, 2019 at 8:28 pm
Experienced Pilot