Archive (10 life histories found)

We used nicknames a lot between ourselves to avoid being politically incorrect. The locals we refered to as ' men from Mullingar', and the hookers who infested the hotel bar we called 'nightfighters. ' One of our engineers was 'bungallow' as we…

During my time there the Government decided to build a new capital in the middle of the country. This was to be called Abuja, and was conceived to minimize the friction between the Muslim North and the Christian South. Billions were spent carving…

As fate would have it I just happened to be on station at Christmas 1984 when the Nigerian Army decided to stage a military coup against their corrupt politicians. Two of us went out to Kano airport to operate the early morning flight to Lagos. As…

It had been decided to base two of our aircraft at Kano, Northern Nigeria. This was a welcome break from Lagos. The weather in Kano was much more pleasant, it was dry and no humidity. We started the new morning schedule going clockwise Kano,…

For the two weeks we were flying in Nigeria contact to home was difficult as the phones never worked in the hotel . You could go to the post office and book an overseas call but had to wait hours for a connection also pay in advance for the…

Although we had very dangerous flying conditions it was fun . Where else could you take off from a remote airport and fly at low level over the countryside dodging hillocks and trees in a Boeing 737 at 300 knots! If any passenger queried this we…

Flying conditions in Nigeria were appalling. We had all sorts of weather conditions to deal with. During the 'Harmattan' sand storms were blown down from the Sahara reducing visibility to nil. And then came the rainy season and hugh squall lines…

One of the most interesting and amusing periods of my life were the years I spent flying in Nigeria. I was employed by Guinness Peat Aviation in Shannon and they had a contract with Nigeria Airways. This was a 'wet' lease i. e. supplied aircraft…

Mike with Craic McCarthy, Atti McKenna, Erich Bayne and Norman Williamson singing Karaoke in Nigeria

Mike with Craic McCarthy, Atti McKenna, Erich Bayne and Norman Williamson singing Karaoke in Nigeria