Dozens Dead After Military Plane Crashes Near Naval Base

A Nigerian military aircraft carrying 32 people crashed in the country’s southwest Monday, killing everyone on board in one of Nigeria’s deadliest military aviation disasters in recent years.

The Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 went down near Igbokoda in Ondo State while flying from Benin City to Lagos on what officials described as a routine mission.

The aircraft was carrying 25 passengers and seven crew members.

Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane at approximately 9:13 a.m. local time on October 5. Repeated attempts to reach the aircraft by radio were unsuccessful, prompting an emergency search operation.

The wreckage was later located near a Nigerian Navy base in the Igbokoda area, a coastal community surrounded by waterways and swampy terrain.

Local witnesses described a chaotic scene after the crash, with debris reportedly scattered near a river and portions of the aircraft ending up in or near the water.

Search and rescue teams rushed to the scene, but authorities later confirmed that all 32 people aboard had died.

President Bola Tinubu expressed what his office called “profound sadness” over the tragedy and offered condolences to the victims’ families and the Nigerian Air Force.

“This is a painful moment for our Armed Forces and for the entire nation,” Tinubu said.

The president directed the Nigerian Air Force to immediately launch a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash, saying officials must determine what went wrong and take steps to prevent another disaster.

Tinubu also declared three days of national mourning for the Air Force personnel killed in the crash and ordered flags across Nigeria to be flown at half-staff.

The names of those killed are expected to be released after their families have been formally notified.

The Nigerian Air Force has not publicly identified a cause for the crash.

Nigeria’s Safety Investigation Bureau said that because the aircraft belonged to the military, responsibility for the investigation rests primarily with the Nigerian Air Force. However, the civilian safety agency has offered technical assistance if requested.

That assistance could include helping recover and analyze flight recorder information, including cockpit voice and flight data recordings that may give investigators critical information about the aircraft’s final moments.

The ATR-42 is a twin-engine turboprop aircraft. The Nigerian Air Force has operated specialized versions of the aircraft for maritime patrol, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

Officials have not said whether the aircraft suffered a mechanical problem, encountered weather trouble or experienced another emergency before controllers lost contact.

The disaster is expected to renew questions surrounding military aviation safety in Nigeria.

The country has experienced several deadly military aircraft crashes in recent years. In February 2021, seven Nigerian Air Force personnel were killed when a King Air 350 aircraft crashed near Abuja after reporting engine trouble.

Three months later, another Nigerian military King Air crashed near Kaduna, killing all 11 people aboard, including Nigeria’s then-Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru.

Monday’s tragedy carries an even larger death toll.

Investigators will now focus on the aircraft’s maintenance history, communications with air traffic control, weather conditions and any recoverable flight data as they try to determine exactly why the routine flight ended in disaster.