How NAF plane vanished from radar shortly after takeoff, then crashed in Ondo

A Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft carrying 32 people vanished from radar shortly after take-off on a routine flight from Benin to Lagos on Monday, before crashing into a swamp near the Naval Base in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, according to reports by PUNCH and Vanguard.

Air Traffic Controllers lost contact with the aircraft, tail number NGR 931, at about 9:13 a.m., with repeated attempts to re-establish radio communication proving unsuccessful. Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo confirmed the disappearance in a statement, later announcing that the wreckage had been located close to the Naval Base. The NAF, in a statement by its Director of Public Relations, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, said the aircraft was on a routine mission when the accident occurred. The plane reportedly vanished from radar screens during a heavy downpour before plunging into waterlogged terrain, according to TheGuild.

Preliminary information indicated 25 passengers and seven crew members, including NAF officers and family members, were aboard. All 32 were confirmed dead, with no survivors found. Ondo Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa said searchers recovered wing wreckage, identification cards and uniforms at the crash site, which helped confirm it was a military aircraft. The traditional ruler of Igbokoda, the Olu of Igbokoda, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, expressed relief that the plane did not strike densely populated residential areas nearby.

President Tinubu has directed the NAF to investigate the cause of the crash and extended condolences to the families of those killed.