Editor,73 Others Escape Air Crash

What would have been another air disaster was yesterday,
averted by the whiskers as an Abuja-bound aircraft made a dramatic return to
Lagos when one of its engines developed a mechanical fault mid-air.

On board the aircraft which belongs to Med-View Airline were
73 passengers, including Mr. Donald Ojogo, the newly appointed Politics Editor,
Abuja, of the Independent Newspapers Limited, publishers of Daily Independent,
Saturday Independent and Sunday Independent
newspaper.

The Lagos-Abuja bound flight, VL2104, scheduled for 12 noon
yesterday had taken off at exactly 12.15 pm, 15 minutes behind schedule.

But at exactly 12.30, about five minutes after the seat belt
signs were put off, there was a loud bang at the engine side of the aircraft,
forcing it to drop in altitude even as it became unstable, swerving slowly and
steadily in left and right directions for about two minutes.

The development elicited instant prayers, wailings and cries
from the passengers, most of whom were women with the silence of the aircraft
crew, especially the pilot, further heightening tension in the plane.