Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has narrated his ordeal in a near plane crash on a Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 777-300.
Okay.ng understands that plane was conveying 394 passengers and crew aboard the aircraft which took off from Addis Ababa en route the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The former president were returning from Addis Ababa, where they attended a stakeholders’ meeting on Continental Trade and Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) ended Tuesday, May 28, 2019.
Narrating the incident, Obasanjo said the pilots of the aircraft simply followed standard operating procedures and precautionary measures in the circumstances leading to final approach of the aircraft, by smoothly pulling up and subsequently lining up with the runway for a second approach.
Speaking on the incident, the ex-military head of state, told newsmen that he wasn’t unperturbed about the incident.
He said: “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.”
However, speaking on his reaction while the pilot initiated the safety precautionary steps, Obasanjo said :
“One man, who was next to me, said, ‘Oga you no worry?’ I said, ‘Íf I worry, what should I do? If you are on a plane and you have a situation like this, why should you worry?’ So, I left everything in the hands of God.”
Furthermore, Obasanjo said the pilot first landed the plane at about 12:20 p.m. before the incident, but finally landed safely on return at 12:30 p.m.
“He touched the ground. Then he took off and apologised and landed again at about 12.30. We spent just about 10 minutes in the air before we landed again,” he said.
