Governor Ademola Adeleke and a few of his aides just narrowly avoided an airplane disaster, according to the governor of Osun State’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, on Sunday.
Rasheed claimed that an airplane carrying the governor may have had its engine tampered with.
An airplane carrying Adeleke and some of its staff reportedly came dangerously close to crashing on September 5 as it tried to take off from Lagos for a trip to Abuja, according to a report in a national daily. Rasheed confirmed the report in a statement on Sunday and added that preliminary findings from the internal investigation suggested a possible sabotage.
Rasheed added that the plane was always in operation, had a top-notch technical crew, and was never left empty where birds could make nests.
The statement went on to say, “Contrary to the hanger owner’s assertion that birds’ nests were to blame for the event, birds’ nests are formed with straws rather than bid wires, as in this case.
After boarding and less than two minutes into the tarmac’s taxing phase, the almost fatal incident was avoided.
The pilots instantly directed the evacuation of the passengers in response to an early warning noise from the engines. Everything took place in five minutes.
Early internal investigative reports suggested sabotage. However, both domestic and foreign authorities are currently looking into the situation.
He did, however, reassure the public that Adeleke and his assistants were safe because no one was hurt and the jet had not experienced any external explosions.
An extensive inquiry into this incident has been launched in the interim by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigeria Safety inquiry Bureau.
Capt. Musa Nuhu, Director General of the NCAA, revealed this in a news release on Sunday.
As the plane was supposed to fly Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State and his staff to Abuja earlier today, the event happened at the Lagos airport.
A full-fledged inquiry into the incident has been started, according to part of the statement.
While expressing relief that no one was hurt, the Honourable Minister, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN, guaranteed that the NCAA’s findings and recommendations would be followed in accordance with Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations and international best practices.
