BREAKING NEWS: 4 persons rescued as plane crashes in Lagos

Pandemonium broke out at Oba Akran, Ikeja area of Lagos State, yesterday, as a light single-engine aircraft, turbo 5N-CCQ, crashed on a major road and burst into flames.

The incident occurred adjacent to AP Filling Station and a commercial bank, on Oba Akran, at about 1.41pm local time.

Vanguard gathered that the ill-fated J4 30 aircraft type, with a piston engine, had the pilot and three passengers on board.

Motorists and commuters scampered for safety, as a result of the incident, which resulted in traffic gridlock at the scene and adjourning roads.

Identities of the occupants were unknown, as of the time of writing this report, but they were said to be foreigners, who were on a test run of the ill-fated plane.

Vanguard gathered that some brave members of the community were the first responders, who rescued the occupants, before the arrival of government’s rescue teams.

An eyewitness, Stanley Mohawa, who claimed to have rescued the occupants, said: “When we managed to bring them out, there was fire. Their money was falling off the plane. They were talking to us and were conscious. But they did not know what happened.

“Some boys took them to the hospital. We were scared of the fire and we didn’t want it to escalate because of the filling station and a gas plant close by. Besides, we had many vehicles here too. We were able to get about six fire extinguishers to fight the fire.

“When we started fighting the fire, the AP Filling station saw us and brought their fire extinguishers. We were able to curtail its escalation before the arrival of the Lagos State Fire Service.

Another eyewitness from the Anifowose community in Oba Akran, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “When the plane crashed, we rescued those on board. We rescued two of them and took them to the hospital.
“We had to dismantle the plane because it was not made of iron but fibre. All the documents on the plane were burnt. It was only the engine that was left.”

Aircraft had 5 hours of fuel endurance
According to a source from the control tower of Lagos airport, the aircraft operated by Air First Hospital and Tour crashed from 1500 feet after leaving the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA.

The source also disclosed that the South African-made Javir plane was coming in for an emergency landing but hit the light pole after making the circuit.

It was also gathered that the aircraft had five hours of fuel endurance.

When Vanguard contacted the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, on the cause of the accident, the agency stated that it was not well informed of the details but directed our correspondent to contact the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB.

Rescue team was exceptional —Lagos CP
Speaking with journalists, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos Command, CP Idowu Owohunwa, who was on the spot to assess the situation, said: “The response time of the rescue teams was quite exceptional and prompt. The moment we heard it, we deployed Policemen to the scene and coordinated with the first responders and the emergency rescue team to promptly evacuate the two victims to the hospital.

“As at the time of the accident, there was no fatality on the scene. We evacuated them to the hospital with the support of the first responders’ medical team.

“It is a single-engine plane and the Police recovered the engine and some other items at the scene which are now secured and being processed at the Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB. The AIB will continue from here, while ours is to ensure the scene remains secured in case there are other post-crash activities to be conducted by the experts.”

NEMA speaks
The South West Coordinator of Nigeria Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye, who was also at the scene, commended members of the community for the assistance rendered.

Farinloye said: “The rescue was timely with the assistance of the local community. Surviving a plane crash is a matter of five minutes. If rescue comes to victims early enough, they will be rescued. Anything more than ten minutes would have been something else.

“You know we have a gas plant and petrol station here. If it had gone beyond that, more disasters would have been recorded.

“There were two passengers on board. The plane had no data recorder. The propeller engine has been recovered and we retrieved some personal belongings of the occupants.”

Aircraft not ours —Air Peace
Meanwhile, the management of Air Peace, yesterday, denied ownership of the aircraft.

The airline’s spokesperson, Stanley Oliseh said: “Our attention has been drawn to a tweet misinforming the public that the helicopter that crashed around Oba Akran, Ikeja, today, was an Air Peace aircraft.

“This is untrue and misleading as we do not have helicopters and none of our aircraft was involved in any crash. Air Peace operates Boeing 777s, Embraer 195-E2s, ERJ-145s, Dornier 328, Airbus 320s and Boeing 737s- no helicopter in our fleet.

“It is emphatically important that people get their facts right before publishing. Members of the public are urged to disregard the tweet as it misrepresents the Air Peace brand.”

Sanwo-Olu visits scene

Governor Bababjide Sanwo-Olu, who was at the scene of the accident, sympathised with the victims and urged residents to remain calm and allow emergency responders to restore sanity in the area.

NSIB commences inquest

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB, has commenced investigation into the accident involving a Jabiru J430 aircraft in Lagos.

The NSIB, in a statement, by its spokesperson, Tunji Oketunbi, said: “We have been notified and commenced investigation into an accident involving a Jabiru J430, a light single airplane with Nationality and Registration Marks 5N-CCQ operated by Air First Hospitality and Tours, which occurred around a little after 1500hrs local time on August 1, 2023.

“The aircraft was on a test flight within Lagos with two passengers onboard, before it crashed around Oba Akran area of Lagos State with no fatalities.

“The aircraft caught fire on impact but the spread was contained by the rainfall at the time of impact. The two souls on board were taken to the hospital.

“The NSIB, hereby, solicits information from the general public in form of pictures, video or recording evidences to assist in conducting a comprehensive investigation.”