THERE was a widespread confusion as a plane that was being towed along the side of the Ikeja expressway in Lagos in the evening hours of Tuesday, May 24, 2022, was rumoured to have crashed although the Nigerian airport authorities claimed that it was being delivered to its new owner via the busy road.
According to reports, several videos of the aircraft posted on social media showed it at various points along the Ikeja expressway, within a mile of the international and domestic airport terminals and plane storage facilities in the Ikeja area of Lagos.
These videos showed the passenger aircraft being towed alongside heavy traffic as pedestrians passed closely by, with videos taken from one side of the plane showing trucks towing away part of one of the aircraft wings.
Some initial rumours spread online claimed that the plane had crash landed in the populous area.
In response to questions on how the aircraft had arrived on the side of the road, Ibrahim Farinloye, the head of Lagos’ emergency management agency said officials had tracked all incoming and outgoing flights in Lagos and there have been no record of a missing plane.
A passerby, identified as Jude, who posted footage of the plane said, “It was a shock to everyone, seeing a plane on the express road. The things we see in Lagos.”
However, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has debunked the rumours.
In a statement, FAAN said: “The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria would like to inform the general public to disregard the news making the rounds on social media about an alleged crash at Ikeja Airport.
“The aircraft was sold by the owner to a buyer, who was taking it to its final destination”, the agency said in a Facebook post.
