Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has narrated how he escaped a plane crash at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
Adeleke and some of his aides, reports say, had boarded a private jet owned by his elder brother at the domestic wing of Lagos airport going to Abuja on September 5.
The jet, it was alleged, lost its two engines by catching fire on the runway after taking off.
Subsequently, it was alleged that birds had built their nest in one of the engines which resulted in Foreign Object Damage (FOD) that made the aircraft experience high temperature, which resulted in the explosion.
But, Adeleke in a statement issued by his Spokesman, Olawale Rasheed on Sunday, criticised the claim that the incident was caused by a bird’s nest.
He stated that the bird nests are made with straws not bidding wires.
He said, “there are strong indications that the two aircraft engines were tampered with before boarding. The highly technically equipped aircraft was well maintained with the best technical crew and was never an unused platform where birds could build nests.
He noted that “Contrary to the claim by the hanger owner that birds’ nests caused the incident, birds’ nests are made with straws not bidding wires as in this case.
“The near-fatal incident was averted shortly after boarding and less than two minutes after commencement of taxing on the tarmac. An early warning noise from the engines immediately prompted the pilots to direct the evacuation of the passengers.
“Everything happened within five minutes. Early reports from the internal investigation indicated sabotage. But the authorities, locally and internationally, are still investigating the incident.”
The former senator disclosed that there was no injury or any outward explosion on the plane.
