There were rumours that the closure of the airspace by aviation authorities forced the ill-fated aircraft to hover for more than two hours.
But in a statement signed by Joe Obi, the media assistant to Aviation Minister Stella Oduah, the ministry said there was nothing to warrant air space closure for the First Lady who flew into Lagos on Saturday and returned on Monday.
“The crash occurred at about 4.47pm on Sunday.
The Federal Ministry of Aviation will like to clarify that nothing could be farther from the truth. For the records, we wish to state that the First Lady arrived in Lagos at about 4.45p.m. on Saturday, 2nd June, 2012 and only departed for Abuja on Monday, the 4th of June, 2012 at 1.30p.m., whereas the ill-fated Dana flight departed Abuja on Sunday, 3rd of June, 2012 at 2.54p.m. and its last contact with the Lagos Control Tower was at 3.42p.m. as has already been announced.
“We wish to stress that the First Lady did not fly on Sunday, the 3rd of June, 2012 as is widely been speculated.
An Impeccable source at the Presidency said it is not the practice to shut down the airspace for the First Lady or any other VIP apart from the President and the Vice President. Even in the case of the President, the time has been cut 10 minutes and that of the VP to five minutes
“And so, it is wrong for anyone to insinuate that the airspace of Lagos was shut down for two hours because of the arrival of the First Lady.
“The First Lady’s flight just runs as any of the flights.