But God be praised, finally something came out to make front page.
From Punch Nigeria :
Lagos: 248 escape death in Qatar Airways plane emergency landing
September 30, 2012 by Oyetunji Abioye
There was palpable fear at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos Saturday afternoon, as a Qatar Airways plane coming from Doha made an emergency landing due to a flat tyre.
The pilot of the Airbus A330-200 plane had sent a distress call to air traffic controllers on duty at the airport, telling them that one of his tyres had low pressure.
The aircraft carrying 248 passengers touched down on runway 18R of the airport at about 1:15pm with a burst tyre.
Scores of fire fighters from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Lagos State Fire Service and the Federal Fire Service had been mobilised to the airport.
A few minutes after the aircraft made the landed, it was towed to the parking bay of the international wing of the airport.
The panic-stricken passengers were however, unwilling to speak to journalists.
The Information Officer, NEMA, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, who led the emergency process on behalf of the agency, told reporters that the agency had received a distress call from airport authorities as early as 10am.
Farinloye added that the aircraft was said to have had a tyre burst on the rear side of the aircraft, a situation that required emergency landing.
He said the agency consequently mobilised and coordinated an emergency landing which included several agencies such as the Federal Road Safety Corps and the Civil Defence Corps.
He noted that the aircraft landed safely.
The Director-General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Harold Demuren, said the pilot took precautionary steps to land the aircraft the way he did.
He confirmed that the aircraft had low pressure in one of the tyres.
An official of Qatar Airways in Lagos said the airline had no official reaction to the development since the aircraft landed safely.
Now, why do journos write such things? Maybe because there are some to read it?
One the comments on the on-line Nigerian Tribune :
I thank God almihgty, also members of NEMA 4 their quick response which averted another deadly misharp. But come to think of it, what stoped them 4rm taking the same measures to avert that of DANA AIR?,
Is it that what someone told me abt NAMAN officials is true?, he said that politicians and the directors in civil service who wants to kill anybody they feel is blocking their way can bribe NAMAN to cut comminucation with a pilot if the targeted person is on board so that the plane would crash thereby killing both the person and others on board. May God help us.
ROTFLOL
All quiet on the Southern front.
Have all a quiet and sunny sunday.
H.A.
