I was flying out of
Abuja on Aero Flight 126. The initial departure time was pushed back by 2 hours
to 3:30 pm. I still got to the airport 3 hours early as I typically like to use
airport waiting time to do some blogging. I tweeted about a girl twirling
around like a ballerina and
then wrote for another 2 hours before my flight was called up. As usual
everyone rushed to the gate and in less than 30 seconds 2 lines had formed and
had already begun wrapping itself around the terminal walls. I noticed a couple
of people from the wedding I attended the Saturday before, but did not really
know them so I just stayed in line jamming my Tupac
Thug Life Album Jamaroquai. We got onto the tarmac and began walking to our
airplanes. AERO had 2 planes on the tarmac that afternoon the delayed flight
126, which I was on and flight 128. I got onto the plane and after scrunching a
few bags found some space for my hand luggage luggages. I had
been assigned the an exit seat 9A and was ecstatic about the extra legroom…so
ecstatic that I took a picture of me stretching my legs on the seat and posted
it to my blackberry profile. In the middle of my leg stretching exercise one of
the flight attendants began waving at me I
thought she was trying to holler so I was fronting to
take off my earphones so that I could listen to the exit row instructions. All
6 of us on the exit row had to affirm that we could operate the exit doors and
coordinate passengers in a time of an emergency. It was all serious talk, but
she ended with a smile saying that not crazy was going to happen. Several
seconds later I update my BB status and complain about the long list of exit
row instructions I was just given. At that point my blackberry did what it does
best…and proceeded to die…I then reclined into my chair and did what I did best
and proceeded to sleep…
Picture that I posted
on my BBM just before my Battery Died
In my dream I heard the
seat belt alarm go off and then I woke up. But nobody was disembarking from the
plane, instead they sat on their seats as the airplane door was pulled open. I
thought this was some kind of weird prank and I was confused, it was not until
I looked out the window and saw the Abuja mountains and the other flight 128
aircraft did I realize that we never departed. I asked the gentleman what had
happened and all he said was that the Lagos Airport had been shutdown and the
pilot was made to turn around. I assumed that it was because of the MAULAG
riots that the airport was shut down. But by then mobile phones from all across
the plane had started lighting up as people browsed the internet…people were
saying something about a plane crash but it was all confusing I heard Dana
and then Ghana. After 10 minutes, passengers from flight 128 started getting
off the plane. A few seconds later our flight attendants informed us that we
also had to get down. All I could think off was where the heck I was going to
find another N15,000 to spend on an Abuja hotel room. As I got off the plane I
noticed one of the girls from the wedding…I remember her because during the
wedding money spraying she was one of the people collecting the money on the
ground. I saw a stray dollar bill and informed her about it she said jokingly
that as a gentleman I should pick it up and not point! yikes!
As I got down I saw a
different girl from the wedding crying on the tarmac and an older guy consoling
her. That is when I knew something crazy had happened. All I could do was
stare…until I was bumped into moving out of the way. I got into the terminal
and noticed a guy i saw taking pictures at the wedding…I said “hey were you not
at the wedding.” And he barely responded, I thought he was being snubbish, then
I asked if he heard about the crash and he said “yeah I was just talking to
someone that boarded the flight.” That was when I realized that a plane had not
only crashed, but that the passengers had just left Abuja and that the reason
why we had to turn back was because of the crash. A few seconds after that a lady
pops out her tablet and sees the pictures of the crash and everyone surrounds
her. At this point I realize that I need to charge my phone and update my
status or else people would be worried since my last update was me flying to
Abuja. But before I could get to a socket my co-worker calls me and when I
answer she just starts screaming for joy. I immediately call my mum on my
non-BB phone to tell her that I am OK, but she barely knows what is going on.
I finally manage to
charge my phone on and update my status, but by then it is too late…people had
already started asking me where I was and what flight I took and all. Some
people already I assumed I had died, which was quite scary. After updating my
status I just sat down on the airport floor and looked up and the first thing
that came to my head was “i could easily have been on that flight.” And that
was the first time I teared up. I turned around and saw a bunch of people from
the wedding and they were all gathered around and in tears…including the spraying
money girl. The flight announcement came up again about 30 minutes
later for us to re-board…and this was the first time I saw Nigeria like this,
people did not rush to the lines, people were extra cautious to each other, the
guys on the tarmac that screen you were wishing people safe flight and trying
to cheer everyone up. On the plane people were not fighting to get their bags
into the overhead cabins…people were just calm. For a fraction of a few
minutes, it was as if I was living in a different Nigeria. The flight
attendants did a great job in keeping people calm and upbeat, they acted normal
as if nothing had happened.
Boarding Aero for the
second time on Sunday
We took off several
minutes later and this time I was wide awake! The plane flew and into Lagos as
planned. The flight was one of the longest I had ever been on…I just kept
holding my phone and hoping that we landed. Just as we got to lagos, we could
see the crash site of the Dana aircraft from the right side of the plane. We
got to Lagos and if Abuja was crazy…Lagos was crazier…families were parked at
the garage and people were crying and wailing on the floor. One particular
woman kept yelling at her friend “why did you change the flight….I never change
the flight!” and police officers just keep screaming “hold her hold her.”
In the midst of all the
sorrow the one thing that struck me was how respectful everybody was to each
other…I guess in a way death brings out the best in many but I just hope we
find a way to bring out the best in ourselves and others before death.
The scene of crying
families at the MM2 domestic airport.
RIP Jennifer Onita I
saw you…you looked familiar but I never said a word…life is short…
Ofili is
an award winning ninja motivational
speaker, author, success coach and mind
reader entrepreneur who blogs about life, success and entrepreneurial
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