Following the crash of a light single-engine aircraft, turbo 5N-CC on a major road in Oba Akran, Ikeja area of Lagos State, yesterday, there are now reports of how the accident happened and how the four persons involved were rescued.
Recall that the crash occurred adjacent to AP Filling Station and a commercial bank, on Oba Akran, at about 1.41pm local time.
According to a Vanguard report, 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.
Though the identities of the occupants were unknown, as of the time of writing this report, report claims they were foreigners on a test-run of the ill-fated plane.
Members of the community where the incident happened responded swiftly and 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.”
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.