The Tunisian pilot who flew the chartered ValueJet plane carrying the Nigerian Super Eagles football team to Libya, reveals that it was Libyan authorities who had made him divert the aircraft.
In a video he posted online, the pilot narrated what led to the Super Eagles team getting stranded in Libya.
He explained that the original flight plan was to land in Benghazi, but when they started descent they were suddenly instructed by Libyan officials to land in another airport in Mitiga, 150 miles (300km).
Despite the pilot trying to warn them of the limited fuel reserves and the fact that they had already gotten approval from the Libyan civil authorities, they had to divert the plane.
He also revealed that even after getting to the airport, the conditions for landing were subpar, as the facilities present in the airport were not sufficient to land such a plane.
Fortunately, they could make it safely to the ground, but the ordeal that followed was just as grueling, as the Super Eagles team were stuck in the airport for over 15 hours with no food, water, or place to properly rest.
Speaking in the video,, the pilot said;
“The flight plan was to land in Benghazi. We got the approval from the Libyan civil aviation authority that we were approved to land, But unfortunately, when we started the descent, they asked us to divert to Mitiga, which is almost 150 miles (300 km) away. This was not even our alternate airport.”
“I asked them several times, at least eight times, and I warned them that I would be in trouble for the fuel situation, They said it was from the highest authority and that we had to divert to Mitiga immediately.”
“Even the airport in Mitiga was not well-equipped. There was no ILS, no other approach aids, so we had to land visually, It was our first and last chance with this changing company, and I know the area very well, but it was not an easy matter at all.”
“This is our flight plan. We cannot hide anything. There is a lot of cross-checking and redundancy in aviation, so they cannot hide this information or say anything other than the truth,”
Watch the video below;
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