A plane conveying Senator Kamoru Adedibu — son of late godfather of Ibadan politics, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu — and 30 other passengers narrowly averted a crash on Friday evening at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, when it went up in flames shortly before take-off.
Owned by Overland Airlines, the Ibadan-bound plane was primed to depart Abuja at 4:52pm when one of its engines began emitting smoke, forcing officials of the airline to hurriedly evacuate the passengers.
“We first observed that engineers were frantically fiddling with the plane’s engine. Then we suddenly saw smoke. It is not funny at all. All of us, including a senator, rushed out of the plane”, Nigerian Tribune quoted Chief Executive Officer of Special Travels and Tours, Olufunmilayo Rotiba as saying.
“About 31 passengers of the plane were already seated before the incident. We were subsequently evacuated by airport officials. As I am speaking with you now [8:30pp], we are waiting for another plane from Ilorin, which we have been promised will take us to Ibadan. We thank God”.
Adedibu himself expressed shock at the near-tragedy, but thanked God that it happened pre-take-off rather than mid-air. He also praised the pilot, the crew and airport officials for their vigilance, without which they would neither have spotted the smouldering engines nor initiated the rescue operation.
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