Families and friends Sunday gathered in Itoikin near the Ejirin river along Ikorodu-Epe Expressway to lay wreaths at the crash site of the Ill-fated ADC crash which occurred on November 7, 1996, in remembrance of the 144 persons who died in the crash.
It would be recalled that Flight 086 was en route to Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos at flight level (FL) 240 (approximately 24,000 ft (7,300 m) altitude) with 144 souls on board when the crash occurred.
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There were no survivors in the ill-fated crash.
It was a quiet and solemn moment yesterday as family members and friends converged on their final resting place 25 years ago to pray for their loved ones and lay wreaths at the cenotaph close to the Itoikin bridge.
The Chairman of Aviation Development Company (ADC), Capt. Augustine Okon said the crash was caused by Air Traffic Control (ATC) error as revealed by the then Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB).
According to him, the memory of those who died cannot be forgotten.
The brother of the captain of the ill-fated aircraft, Mr Dafe-Urhobo Sama, said they missed their brother and father, appealing to other families to continue to pray for one another to continue to endure the irreparable losses.
At the site, names of the victims were read while the officiating priest urged families and friends of the dead to have solace in the fact that their loved ones were in a better place.
The accident involving a Boeing 727 aircraft had happened on 7 November 1996 when the pilot lost control after taking evasive action to avoid a mid-air collision.
Investigation had revealed that the plane crash occurred due to an Air Traffic Controller error.
The Lagos Air Traffic Controller had cleared the crew of Flight 086 to descend but erroneously thought that he had earlier cleared Flight 086 to descend to 10,000 ft (3,000 m) and that it was below the Triax aircraft.
The descent from FL240 caused Flight 086 to conflict with the Triax flight at FL160.
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