VIDEO: Tunisian pilot who flew Super Eagles team to Libya reveals the truth of what happened

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The pilot from Tunisia who piloted the ValueJet charter flight that sent the Nigerian Super Eagles football team to Libya has stated that Libyan authorities told him to change the plane’s destination.

The pilot claims that the first flight plan, which was authorised by the aviation authorities, called for landing the aircraft in Benghazi, Libya. However, as they got closer to their destination, officials abruptly ordered them to change their course and head to a different airport.

“The flight plan was to land in Benghazi. We got the approval from the Libyan civil aviation authority that we were approved to land,” the pilot explained.

“But unfortunately, when we started the descent, they asked us to divert to Mitiga, which is almost 150 miles (300 km) away. This was not even our alternate airport.”

The pilot claimed to have forewarned the officials that the diversion would have negatively affected their fuel supplies and may jeopardise the flight’s safety.

“I asked them several times, at least eight times, and I warned them that I would be in trouble for the fuel situation,” the pilot recounted. “They said it was from the highest authority and that we had to divert to Mitiga immediately.”

Later, the pilot followed the instructions. Fortunately, there were no problems with the plane’s safe landing in Mitiga.

“Even the airport in Mitiga was not well-equipped. There was no ILS, no other approach aids, so we had to land visually,” the pilot said. “It was our first and last chance with this changing company, and I know the area very well, but it was not an easy matter at all.”

“This is our flight plan. We cannot hide anything. There is a lot of cross-checking and redundancy in aviation, so they cannot hide this information or say anything other than the truth,” the pilot stated.

This information was disclosed just hours after Super Eagles players claimed they had been harassed by Libyan officials prior to their Tuesday game, which they eventually cancelled and returned home after spending 20 hours stuck at the airport.

Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong called the situation “disgraceful” and accused the hosts of playing “mind games” in a flurry of tweets sent out early Monday morning.
He disclosed that the group was detained in a deserted airport without access to food, beverages, or telephone service.

On Friday, October 11, Nigeria defeated Libya 1-0 at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo. The return leg between the two countries was set on October 15 in Libya.

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