el-Rufai, 102 Others Escape Death •As Aero Aircraft’s Tyre Bursts

Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and  over 99 others escaped death on Sunday, as a Boeing 737 plane belonging to Aero Airlines, which they boarded, had its tyre burst at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos.

The aircraft, which left the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, around 9.00a.m, was said to have suffered a tyre burst upon landing at the Murtala Mohammed Airport.

el-Rufai, after the incident, took to the social media, tweeting: “Upon landing in Lagos, our Aero aircraft lost a tyre. The pilot did a great job of breaking to a halt. My phones flew under seats.”

A director of the airline, who spoke under condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident but said the burst tyre was immediately replaced by engineers of the airline.

He said the airline was currently waiting for the approval of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for the aircraft to commence operations, insisting that it was a minor incident, normal in aircraft operations.

Aero is one of the two domestic carriers the Federal Government is packaging to form a new national carrier for Nigerians.