Power minister escapes death as aircraft crash-lands

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, escaped death on Friday after an aircraft which had him on board crash-landed near Ibadan Airport in Oyo State.
Daily Trust reports that it could not ascertain if the minister or those on board sustained any injury in the incident.

The incident happened after the Nigerian Metrological Agency (NiMET) issued travel warning based on hazy weather.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had also advised Pilots and Airline Operators to exercise caution over hazardous weather as the dry season approaches.

The chartered aircraft, Flint Short Aero, an HS 125 with the registration number, 5N-AMM, was said to have had an initial contact with the control tower at 6,56 seeking for extension, which was granted by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA.

The aircraft departed Abuja with Ibadan as its destination.

Sources said the aircraft landed short of the threshold with about 50 metres and skidded into a bushy ditch close to the runway.

Though, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has been informed of the incident, the authority has yet to issue a statement.

A spokesperson with NSIB, Mr Tunji Oketunmbi, said the Bureau’s investigators were on ground in Ibadan to ascertain the immediate and remote causes of the incident.