Gboyega Adeoye with Agency Report
Ethiopian Airline flight operated with a Boeing 777-300, Flight ET 901 which former President Olusegun Obasanjo and 392 other passengers were flying to Lagos. missed approach at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Runway today, May 29 causing panic among passengers.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that among the 393 passengers on the airplane that took off from Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa were Director of Ports Inspection, National Agency For Food And Drug Administration And Control (NAFDAC), Prof Samson Tunde Adebayo, Director General of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni.
Former President Obasanjo had 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.
According to reports the 5-hour flight from Addis Ababa to Lagos had been blissful until the pilot attempted to land at the Murtala Muhammed International airport where he missed approach, due to rain and heavy wind which veered the aircraft to the third touch-line.
The pilot manoeuvred to reascend to make another attempt to re-land the plane, a development which caused panic in the cabin. The aircraft however landed in Lagos airport, some 20 minutes after the initial aborted landing.
It would be recalled that former President Obasanjo who was among the dignitaries billed to attend the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term in office, held today at the Eagle Square Abuja, was absent from the ceremony.