There were swirls in different parts of Lagos metropolis yesterday as residents were shocked to the marrow over a rumour that a plane crashed-landed in Igando, a densely populated sub-urb of Igando/Ikotun Local Council Development Area (LCDA).
This came barely 10 days after a memorial service was held for the 153 passengers and crew that lost their lives to the ill-fated Dana aircraft that crashed in Iju-Ishaga, Lagos on Sunday, June 3, 2012. To them, the fear of plane crash is the beginning of wisdom.
But it was a rumour afterall. Rather, they were planes that were towed to different locations the previous night. Thousands of residents rushed to the Olowonla bus stop, along LASU-Igando Road to behold the scene. The aircraft was parked at the premises of Dapsey Petrol Station.
But the policemen and officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) did not allow the people to get too close to the plane for their safety. The private jet marked, N972TF, is said to belong to the late General Overseer of the popular Bethel Ministries Inc. on the Lekki/Ajah axis of Lagos, Apostle Gabriel Oduyemi, who died in 2005, aged 67. The two wings of the plane have been removed and tied with ropes to the body to ease transportation to its new location. But the right back tyre of the aircraft had burst.
Manager of the Dapsey Oil, Mr. Dapo Coker, told newsmen that he received a call from the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Igando station, Mr. Olugbemiga Adeoye, at about 1:00a.m. that an aircraft had barricaded the Igando-LASU axis of the road in front of the filling station.
According to him, he directed the guards to open the gate so that the aircraft could be cleared off the road. The plane was later removed from the road and parked in the premises of the petrol station. One of the staff of Dapsey Oil who deos not want his name mentioned, told journalists: “I reported for duty at 8:00a.m everyday. When I arrived today (yesterday), I met this plane in this premises.
But it has spoiled our business today. We could not open this station to sell fuel to motorists.” Officials of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) led by Mr. T. Adedoyin and Chairperson of Igando-Ikotun LCDA, Mrs. Adesina Williams, were at the scene yesterday. Adedoyin stated that the bureau had confirmed that there was no accident, adding that the incident will be investigated.
Besides, another old aircraft was also sighted at Ile-Zik, very close to Ikeja Along Bus Stop, on Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway and another one at Coker Bus Stop on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway yesterday. They were being transported by road to different destinations.
Meanwhile, Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Mr. Mazi Nnamdi Udoh, said the aircraft sighted by residents with clipped wings was transported by land for training purposes and did not fall down from the sky. In a statement, he described the crash as a hoax, explaining that the agency’s radar and navigational system “did not capture any missing plane.
There is nothing like that, it is a hoax.” According to him, “the American-registered aircraft marked – N972TF sighted around the Igando is actually a junk belonging to the late Apostle Gabriel Oduyemi of Bethel Ministries and had long been parked at a NAMA facility up till Wednesday night when it was eventually removed.
“The aircraft was actually released to Captain M.J. Ekehinde, who will be using it for educational purposes in Badagry, Lagos. Part of the wings was removed to ease transportation to its new location.
“I affirm again that NAMA facilities are working at optimal level and this could have assisted in detecting any missing plane within the nation’s airspace.
“While we appreciate the concern of the public on sighting the plane at an unusual site, we urge that people should always contact police and local government officials for proper information before spreading the news of an incident involving any aircraft,” he said.
Daily Sun learnt that such abandoned aircraft, alongside 68 others were to be cannibalised by the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). Yakubu Dati, spokesperson for FAAN said: “Their continuous presence constitutes a threat to the safety and security of our airports. It does not also fit into the Transformation Agenda of the Jonathan administration of making the airports and airspace safe. “The whole area where these abandoned aircraft are kept have to be free.
It is in the interest of the Nigerian public. Some of the planes had been abandoned for between five and 10years due to a number of factors such as old age, obsolete facilities, lack of proper maintenance, and the inability of owners to recapitalise their airlines and keep the planes flying.” Dati noted.
Culled from The Sun newspaper
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