ADC plane survivor shares testimony 20 years after

Esther Longe has recounted how God saved her from the ADC Airlines flight 053 crash 20 years after.

She shared the testimony during the Hallelujah Challenge, an online praise session hosted by Pastor Nathaniel Bassey on October 31, 2026.

The plane crashed on October 29, 2006, shortly after takeoff from Abuja en route to Sokoto, claiming 96 out of 105 people on board.

Among the dead were the 19^th Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido; his son who was representing Sokoto North Senator Badamasi Maccido; Deputy Sokoto Governor Garba Mohammed; Senator Sule Yari Gandi; son of former President Shagari Abdulrahman Shagari and Dr. Nnanna Acholonu.

Longe said a last-minute nudge made her to move to the tail of the plane with a fellow NYSC Corps member who called as she boarded.

She said: ‘’In 2006, I was serving my National Youth Service Corps in Sokoto. My mum was initially against the posting because it was far from home. In 2000, she had lost her younger sister in a plane crash while she was on a missionary trip to Madagascar. Naturally, she was afraid of losing another loved one.

But eventually, she allowed me to go. Before I left, she put me on her lap and prayed, “Lord, this is my first daughter. Take her and bring her back safely to me.”

Every time I travelled by air, my mother would fast from Monday to Wednesday, refusing to break her fast until she knew I had landed safely.

In October 2006, I travelled to Abuja to spend the weekend with a fellow corps member. On Sunday morning, around 5:30 a.m., I woke up and had my quiet time. The Bible reading that morning was James 4:13–17, which reminds us that life is like a vapour and we should never boast about tomorrow.

I prayed and went to the airport.

The flight was delayed because the aircraft was being refuelled. It was also raining heavily. Eventually, we boarded.

As I searched for my seat, I heard someone call my name. It was another corps member sitting at the back of the plane. At that moment, I heard a voice in my spirit say, “Esther, be nice to everybody because you never know when you will need people.”

Instead of sitting in the middle, where my assigned seat was, I went to sit with her at the back.

We prayed for a safe journey, and the plane took off.

As we gained altitude, the aircraft suddenly dropped. At first, we thought it was turbulence. Then it happened again. The emergency lights came on. People were shouting, children were crying, and everyone was terrified.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash.

I looked in front of me, and instead of seeing the inside of an aircraft, I saw grass.

People have asked me if I passed out. No, I didn’t.

Before that day, I believed in God, but that experience made me understand the ministry of angels. The way I was sitting in the aircraft was exactly how I found myself on the ground after the crash.

My phone was beside me, my hand luggage was under the seat, and I was alive.

The woman sitting beside me had been thrown away by the impact. I heard her screaming for help, so I helped her out of the wreckage.

I also saw other women trapped in the debris. One had her wrapper entangled in her seat belt, and her hands and legs were badly broken. I helped to free her.

I remember telling her, “At least you’re alive. They can fix your body.”

By then, villagers had started coming out to help us. We later discovered that the pilot had been circling the airport to dump fuel before the plane crashed outside the airport.

Only three of us could walk, and villagers helped transport us to the airport hospital.

When I arrived, they were already bringing in dead bodies. I desperately wanted to get as far away from that place as possible.

I called the friends who had dropped me at the airport and asked them to come and get me. They took me to a private hospital, where I received treatment. However, I was later advised to report to the military hospital where the other survivors were being kept.

I spent three days there so they could monitor me for internal injuries.

The following morning, I woke up to see CNN reporting the plane crash. That was when I fully understood what had happened.

Out of 105 people on that aircraft, only nine survived. And of those nine survivors, I was the only one who came out without any injuries.

To the glory of God!

But one part of this testimony that I will never forget is what happened when I had to fly back home.

My mother was terrified. She wondered how I would return to Lagos, considering the distance by road and what had just happened.

A friend who worked with Virgin Nigeria encouraged me, saying, “God did not save you on Sunday to kill you on Wednesday. You are coming back by air.”

I agreed, but when I got to the tarmac on Wednesday, I started crying.

The pilots even offered to let me stay in the cockpit with them, but I told them I would rather sit at the back. I cried throughout the flight.

At the end of the journey, the airline announced that they were dedicating the flight to me, Esther, one of the survivors of the ADC plane crash.

When I finally got home, my mother put me on her lap again, just as she had done before I left Sokoto. This time, she was thanking God for bringing her daughter back safely.

Today, I look back with so much gratitude.

Every year when I celebrate the gift of life, I remember that some families are mourning the loved ones they lost in that same crash. It is never something I take lightly.

As I marked 20 years of God’s preservation, I was reminded of His sovereignty.

God rules over the affairs of men. He is sovereign, and His ways are beyond our understanding.

If there is one thing I have learnt, it is that life is a gift, and every day we are preserved is a reason to give God thanks.

I am here today to thank God for 20 years of preservation, 20 years of mercy, and 20 years of experiencing His sovereignty.

THE LORD REIGNS!

Hallelujah!’’