Former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Joe Abah has recounted a distressing incident where the quick intervention of a ground engineer prevented a possible disaster aboard an Ibom Airlines flight.

Abah took to his X handle on Thursday to share the incident that unfolded during his 7am flight from Lagos to Abuja.

Alongside him was Oluseun Onigbinde, the co-founder and Director of BudgIT, both of whom were bound for the nation’s capital.

As the flight prepared for takeoff, passengers braced themselves for the journey.

However, just moments before departure, Abah recalled a loud knock resonating from the aircraft door.

He wrote, “I boarded a 7am @ibomairlines flight in Lagos this morning, heading to Abuja. My brother
@seunonigbinde was on the same flight and we had chatted briefly about work. Aircraft door was shut, phones switched off, ready for takeoff.

“As we were about to start taxiing, there was a loud knock on the aircraft door from outside. We all wondered what it could be. The knocking got more persistent. The flight attendant had to open the door again.

“As she did, a ground engineer came in and those of us in front clearly heard him say “You can’t go. Your landing gear is bad.”

“The pilot made a ‘political’ announcement that they need to perform some additional checks before take off and apologised for the delay. He spoke with the engineer and, a few seconds later, announced that we were to disembark.

“I thank God that we have the systems in place to check this and avert potential disaster. And that we have some diligent Nigerians who take their work seriously.

“If you are that young Nigerian engineer, God will bless you abundantly.”

Abah urged the Nigeria Civil Aviation Agency (NCAA) to assist in identifying the ground engineer whose swift actions averted a potential disaster.

This development comes barely two days after a Dana aircraft skidded off the runway at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Tuesday morning.

The aircraft, which flew from Abuja to Lagos, skidded off the runway in an attempt to land.

No casualties were reported among the passengers and crew on board.

However, the Ministry of Aviation, through the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, suspended the airline’s operations in the country until a comprehensive audit is conducted.

Vanguard News