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Photo of the first aircraft seen flying over Lagos, Nigeria, 1926
On the 30th of May, 1926, a small aircraft was seen flying over the city of Lagos, Nigeria. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, the pilot was one Mr. M. Landrich who had a passenger on board. The aeroplane took off at Elizabeth Vile, in the Congo and landed at Duala with the intention of flying directly to Cotonou which is a distance of about 500 miles.
However, the aircraft (AVRO 504) was forced to land at Nora Beach, Opobo, due to shortage of fuel. The local merchants in the area instantly supplied some liters of fuel to the aircraft which later headed to Warri.
Facsimile of The Nigerian Daily Times reporting the aircraft that first flew over Lagos
The aircraft was expected to fly over Lagos between 11 and 12 o ‘clock but probably due to weather trouble, the much expected aircraft was not in sight till about 5:20 p.m. It flew over the Race Course (now Tafawa Balewa Square) along the Marina at about 1000 feet altitude. The people present around the area have the opportunity of seeing the aircraft as it flew towards Cotonou where it later journey to Dakar, Senegal.
Two days later, The Nigerian Daily Times was launched and the incident was one of the first issues of the Newspaper. The paper said triumphantly:
“This is the first occasion in which an aeroplane has been seen in Lagos and it is remarkable that the first appearance of a flying machine in Lagos should almost synchronize with the first issue of the Nigerian Daily Times.“
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