Profile Of The Crashed Associated Airline Plane + Agagu's Family Say They Were Warned Of An Impending Tragedy Before Agagu's Burial, Insists Burial Plans Will Continue!!
The Associated Airlines Embraer 120 plane with registration number 5N-BJY, which crashed in Lagos on Thursday, was manufactured in Brazil in 1990.
Although its first flight date is unknown, the aircraft, with serial number 174, was said to be 23.5 years old.
According to Airfleets.net, the plane had been flown by three United States-based airlines for 17 years before being sent to Nigeria, namely - Britt Airlines, Continental Express and JRM Air LLC.
Britt Airlines bought the plane on March 23, 1990, and marked it in US registration as N51726. Continental Express later bought it on September 1, 1990 and kept it under US registration as N51726.
Before coming to Nigeria, the plane was later bought by JRM Air LCC which also marked it N 388JR.
It was flown for six years in the country by Associated Airlines before Thursday’s accident.
Meanwhile, members of the family of the former Governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Agagu, have insisted that they will go ahead with the arrangements for his interment despite the plane crash on Thursday.
That while they sympathise with the families of those who lost their loved ones in the crash, they will go
ahead with the burial. The casket bearing Agagu’s body was not affected by the crash.
A member of the Agagu family, Chief Sehindemi Oguntoye, said the community had a premonition that a tragedy would occur before the burial of the former governor. So the family held a prayer session after it was warned of an impending tragedy before the burial.
He said:
“The community had been informed of an impending tragedy and the community had held a vigil to avert it. The vigil even ended today (Thursday). It was a big tragedy for Iju-Odo community.
We had before the death of Dr. Agagu lost our traditional ruler, and now a plane crash which involves our loved ones.’’
He, however, urged the community to be fervent in prayers to prevent further tragedies.
The residents of the community were in pensive mood, with many of them gathering in front of their houses discussing the incident. St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Iju-Odo has been renovated for the burial service scheduled for Friday while major roads leading into the town had been rehabilitated.
The grave where Agagu will be buried in the church cemetery has also been decorated to give him a befitting farewell.
