Barely three weeks after former Governor Olusegun Agagu of Ondo State reportedly slumped and died of an undisclosed illness in Lagos after returning from a trip to the United States, another tragedy struck in Lagos on Thursday as a chartered airplane conveying his body to Akure crashed within the local wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. The plane, which belonged to the Associated Airlines and had about 20 passengers on board, had suddenly nose-dived after taking off at the airport. The incident occurred just as late Agagu’s family, friends, associates and other relations waited anxiously at the Ondo State capital to receive his corpse and proceed with the burial arrangement. About 13 passengers including the crew of the ill-fated were confirmed dead, while seven others, including the son of the late governor, Feyi Agagu, sustained injuries. It is somewhat ironic that Agagu’s remains would be caught in a disaster of this nature on the same turf that he had controlled as the Minister of Aviation in 1999.Equally it is sad that another plane crash has occurred less than two years after the last one involving a Dana Air plane on June 13, 2012. Apart from stirring memories of that tragic incident, the latest plane crash compels another glance at the circumstances that usually surround such mishaps in Nigeria. Some factors have been identified as the major causes of plane crashes in Nigeria include non-lighting of runways and airfields, poorly constructed drainage culverts, inaccurate information by the control tower, lack of proper certification of radio operators and poor supervision of aircraft imported into the country, inefficient regulation and a persistent urge on the part of the airlines to cut corners.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 10:59:35 +0000
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