- Safiu Kehinde
Suspended ValueJet pilot, Captain Oluranti Ogoyi, has broken silence over the incident involving her aircraft and the Nigerian Fuji icon, Wasiu Ayinde, popularly known as K1 De Ultimate.
NPO Reported that the pilot of the Nigerian local airline was suspended alongside her co-pilot, First Officer Ivan Oloba, by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) over breach of safety protocol.
Preliminary investigation by the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) would later reveal that the pilot had forced a takeoff at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, following an altercation with K1 De Ultimate.
Video evidence which had since gone viral showed the singer attempting to block the aircraft from flying after been denied entry over alleged possession of alcoholic drink concealed in a flask.
Efforts by the airport officials to usher K1 De Ultimate away from the terminal proved abortive, leading to the forceful taxi of the aircraft.
The shocking moment captured in one of the videos saw the singer ducking the wing of the aircraft in a near-death miss as the airport officials scampered for safety.
In the wake of the incident, the NCAA had temporarily suspended the license of the pilots.
The authority also blacklisted K1 De Ultimate, barring him from flying for the next six months.
Following her suspension, Captain Ogoyi recounted the incident in a post shared on Facebook on Friday.
The pilot disclosed how K1 De Ultimate had attempted to board the plane with the flask suspected to contain alcohol.
She claimed that the singer had confronted the airport security personnel as he approached the aircraft.
“During boarding which commenced as scheduled at 8:10 am, KWAM1 approached the aircraft at about 08:15–08:20 carrying a gold flask of unknown content.
“Ground staff requested, as per standard procedure, to verify the content of the flask but he vehemently refused.
“He was seen drinking from the flask and the ground staff suspected that it contains alcohol, a substance prohibited onboard aircraft in Nigeria.
“Instead, he responded with comments such as, “Do you know who I am? You have no right to tell me to open my flask.”
“As he reached the foot of the aircraft, security personnel reiterated that he could not board without complying with the inspection. He became confrontational, causing a disruption,” Captain Ogoyi said.
The pilot further recounted how she had attempted to intervene but got the content of the flask allegedly spilled on her and some nearby passengers by K1 De Ultimate.
Following the assault, Captain Ogoyi said she consulted the aiport Head of Security who advised against the singer joining the flight for safety reason.
She however claimed to have commenced taxing after confirming that K1 De Ultimate was out of her sight.
“To manage the situation and prevent further delay, I exited the cockpit and approached Mr. Ayinde to engage him amicably. Without warning, he opened the flask and poured its contents on me, the security personnel, and some nearby passengers.
“Following this assault, airport security intervened, and other passengers were allowed to continue boarding. The Head of Security advised that Mr. Ayinde should not be permitted to travel on the flight due to his behaviour. I agreed, prioritising the safety of my passengers and crew.
“After shutting the aircraft doors, I observed that Mr Ayinde was still near the aircraft, obstructing movement.
“I made a Public Announcement to inform passengers of the delay while security personnel worked to remove him from the area. Once he was moved out of sight, I commenced taxiing and departed for Lagos at approximately 08:50.
“This incident caused significant delay, disruption, and posed safety risks to passengers, crew, and the operation of the flight” She concluded.