The Nigerian Air Force has recorded three crashes in 2023, including a belly landing without casualties.
It also recorded 16 Air crashes between 2015 and 2023, resulting in the loss of 17 aircrafts and 33 personnel.
LEADERSHIP reports that the most recent crash involving a Nigerian Air Force MI-171 Helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission crashed on Monday, August 14, 2023 at about 1:00pm near Chukuba Village in Niger State.
The aircraft is estimated to cost about US$16.4 to US$18.4 million each.
NAF spokesman, Air Cdre Edward Gabkwet, who confirmed the incident, said the aircraft had departed Zungeru Primary School enroute Kaduna but was later discovered to have crashed near Chukuba Village in Shiroro local government area of Niger State.
He said, "Efforts are currently ongoing to rescue the crew and passengers on board the helicopter, while preliminary investigations have commenced to determine the probable cause of the crash".
24 hours after, there was no update on the rescue efforts or fate of crew.
While Gabkwet did not respond to inquiries on the update concerning the crash, LEADERSHIP learnt that the aircraft has a four-man crew comprising two pilots, one flight engineer and one guard engineer.
A former Air Force Chief and veteran pilot told LEADERSHIP that crashes were known hazards of the job.
Some could be as a result of pilot error, engineering or weather conditions which rest on the discretion of the pilot.
He said piloting was a job that requires all the attention to operate from point A to B.
The security expert noted: "After the rigors of training, one would expect a pilot to be efficient in what he does. Sometimes we have accidents and we leave to God because you cannot say this is what went wrong unless there's a second person within who was able to see where the person touched something wrong then you can get that as confirmation but where you lost both crew, pilot and co-pilot then you will rely on the blackbox and investigations.
He said divided attention adds to these accidents, adding that piloting requires patience.
He further said contrary to beliefs, reports of air crash investigations are looking up and decisions are taken to educate those alive.
On February 6, 2023, a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) maritime patrol aircraft belly landed in Lagos.
The aircraft, a Cessna Citation CJ3 on a routine flight, had lost its tyres on touch and go flight in Ilorin and had to carry out a controlled belly landing at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Fortunately, there were no fatalities or injuries to any crew member and persons on the ground.
Again on 14th July, 2023 a Nigerian Air Force FT-7NI trainer aircraft crashed in Makurdi, Benue State.
The aircraft crashed while on a routine training exercise but luckily, the two pilots on board survived the crash after successfully ejecting from the aircraft.
Additionally, there was no loss of lives or damage to any property around the area of impact.
There were four air crashes in 2021, one in 2022.
On February 21, 2021, a Nigerian Air Force King Air 350, NAF201 B350, crashed while returning to Abuja after reporting an engine failure killing seven Air Force personnel
Also on March 31, 2021, NAF Alpha-Jet went missing after losing contact with Radar in Borno. The Jet aircraft (NAF475) went off the radar with 2 crew members.
The wreckage of the aircraft was only discovered by troops of the Nigerian Army in the Sambisa Forest after almost a year.
The Nigerian Air Force authorities had revealed the names of the pilots as Flight Lieutenant John Abolarinwa and Flight Lieutenant Ebiakpo Chapele.
Also, on 21st May, 2021, a Nigerian Air Force aircraft crashed at the Kaduna International Airport killing the former Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 other officers including the crew.
Again, on 18th July, 2021, bandits shot down a Nigerian Air Force alpha jet in Zamfara at about 12.45 pm but no human casualty was recorded.
The gallant pilot of the aircraft, Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo, successfully ejected from the aircraft and using his survival instincts, the pilot, who came under intense ground fire from the bandits, was able to evade them and sought refuge in nearby settlements waiting for sunset.
On August 29, 2015, a Dornier 228 crashed, on 10th October, 2015, another FT-7NI fighter Jet crashed.
Also, on November 15, 2016, Agustawestland 101 helicopter crashed in Makurdi. On July 6, 2017, another Agusta 109 helicopter crashed, while two FT-7NI jets crashed on September 28, 2018 during rehearsals.
Another crash occurred on 2nd January, 2019 with a mi-35 helicopter gunship.
A military helicopter also crashed on June 12, 2019.
Another military aircraft RV-GA Air beetle crashed on August 17, 2019. On November 14, 2019, Agusta Westland 109 crashed.
Furthermore, a Beechcraft KingAir 350i crashed on 21 February 2020. Shortly after, on March 31, 2020, an alfa jet went missing in Borno State.
Another KingAir 350 crashed on May 21, 2021 while, Another Alfa jet crashed on July 18, 2021.
Also, a Super Mushak trainer aircraft crashed in Kaduna on April 19, 2022
Why Crashes Are Rampant - Air Chief
Meanwhile, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, has reiterated the commitment of the military to flush out bandits out of Niger State and others.
He also gave reasons for the frequent crashes of its jets in various parts of the country
Abubakar spoke when the Niger State Governor Umar Bago paid him a condolence visit in Abuja yesterday.
He said the NAF in collaboration with the land force would strengthen their operations.
He vowed that the military with its combat capabilities would completely eradicate the criminals.
He said, "As you are aware that Niger State and other states in this region are plagued by the menace of banditry, insurgency, and others. These challenges have continued to threaten the peace and security and well-being of the people. I want to assure you that the Nigerian Air Force and the Armed Forces of Nigeria remain committed, dedicated, and undaunted in our efforts at eradicating these security challenges being perpetrated by these non-state actors.
"Our approach now is to intensify our activities in tandem with the land forces to completely eradicate these criminal elements with our combat capabilities. Also, I believe that my philosophy is to transform the air force into an agile force capable of meeting all the air power demands of our national security in all operational environments. "
On the incessant crashes, the NAF chief, who admitted the incidents had been a challenge, attributed them to the increased air operations.
He said, "Despite the efforts we have put in we have a couple of issues, one of them is the air crash. The fact is that as long as we fly aircraft there will be incidents of accidents.
"The volume of incidents and accidents are directly proportional to the operations. On our part, we are not folding our arms even with the challenges. The ideal is to strive for zero incidents and accidents in any operational environment. We are putting a lot of initiatives in place to check this. "
He also said the weather conditions have posed a challenge to the service's operations.
Abubakar said, "We have other seasonal challenges. The rains have come and there is a cloud, this hampers what we can see as well as our strike capabilities. Likewise, when the harmattan comes, it also has effects on our operations. These are challenges we live in. We hope that sometimes you understand when our operations are hampered or impeded by some of these challenges. "
He, however, urged the governor to embrace a whole of government approach to curb criminality in his state.
As residents flee Chukuba in Shiroro local government area of Niger State over the crashed Air Force helicopter on Monday, facts have emerged that the bandit group responsible for the attacks at the weekend till Monday in the state belongs to Dogo Gide.
The group is also alleged to have shot down the helicopter on Monday afternoon in Badna village under Kwaki Chukuba ward.
It was learnt that the Dogo Gide group operates in Zamfara, Niger and Kaduna forests but has no permanent camp in Niger state as the group has in Zamfara state
A source hinted that contrary to the reports, it was immediately after the group struck that the military responded by bombarding the positions of the group killing many of the bandits in the process.
It was learnt that the reaction of the military has caused panic around Chukuba town leading to hundreds of villagers fleeing to Erena, Zumba, Kuta and Gwada for safety.
Apparently confirming this, the co-convener of the Concerned Shiroro Youth, Comrade Abubakar Yusuf Kokki, said, "There is panic and fear among the people. The people are moving in large numbers to Erena for safety."
The chairman of Shiroro local government area, Akilu Ishaku, while speaking on the incident in Minna, said the crash made residents of the area flee for safety out of the fear of the unknown.
Noting that the villagers took shelter in Erana, Zumba, and Gwada villages, shaku added that he received the information about the crash from the security operatives in the area, Village Head of Galkogo, and other stakeholders in the area where the incident occurred.
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Meanwhile, Niger State Governor Bago has extended his sympathy to the Nigerian Air Force over the crash of its MI-171 helicopter in Chukuba community in Shiroro local government area of the State.
The governor in a message by his chief press secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, described the incident as shocking and worrisome, assuring the Nigerian Air Force of his administration's readiness to support it and other security agencies in the fight against banditry and other forms of crime.
Bago encouraged them not to relent in sustaining the fight against criminalities to make Niger state safe for all.
Army Confirms Fatalities As COAS Heads To Niger
The Nigerian Army has confirmed recording casualties in bandits ambush in Niger State.
The director Army Public Relations Brig-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu confirming the incident said the gallant soldiers fought through the ambush but with some service-men paying the supreme price.
He stated this while reacting to reports that the NAF MI-17 helicopter on evacuation mission that crashed on Monday near Chukuba Village in Niger State was carrying wounded soldiers to medical hospital before the ugly incident.
Social media had been awash with images and heartbreaking videos of Nigerian soldiers killed in bandits attack over the weekend.
He confirmed that the soldiers entered an ambush in the Wushishi local government area of Niger State.
He added that the chief of army staff Lt.-Gen Taoreed Lagbaja was on operational tour of the North West theater of operations when the incident happened.
He said the COAS has moved to the affected formation and called on Nigerians to support families of the fallen patriots.
"I can confirm that there was an incident in Wushishi LG of Niger state. Our gallant patriots paid the supreme price when they ran into an ambush staged by insurgents. They were courageous till the end. They stood their ground and defended our great country with their lives. The focus now is how to console and bring respite to those they left behind.
"Sadly, the incident occurred while the Chief of Army Staff is on operational tour of the North West Operations theatre for on-the-spot assessment and reinvigoration of ongoing operations. He has currently headed to the affected formation to encourage the troops," he said.
