The military aircraft that crashed on Monday had disappeared from radar shortly after take-off, a senior air traffic controller familiar with the aircraft’s final journey revealed.
The plane, bearing tail number NGR 931, was flying from Benin City, the capital of Edo State, to Lagos when air traffic controllers lost contact with it at roughly 9:13am, shortly before it went down in a swamp at Igbokoda, the headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area in Ondo State.
The senior air traffic controller, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity since he was not permitted to discuss the matter, stated that communication with the aircraft was made shortly after take-off, but contact was later lost, and attempts to re-establish it were unsuccessful.
“I must tell you that this is looking somehow shoddy. When the aircraft took off, we were in touch with it shortly afterward, but it disappeared from the radar. Efforts to reach it were unsuccessful,” the source said.
The source states that staff at the nearest reporting points in Okitipupa subsequently reported hearing a loud bang, thought to be the noise of the crash.
According to the source, the military began search-and-rescue operations right away once it was reported that the aircraft had vanished from radar.
The source, though, emphasized that the continuing search-and-rescue operation would yield more details about what occurred.
“But it was strange. Almost immediately after it took off, we lost communication with it. There was no communication, nothing. And that makes it suspicious. The aircraft just vanished until the crash.
“Even as we speak, the search-and-rescue operation is still ongoing, and when that is concluded, I should be able to get more information,” the source said.
Although the source called the loss of communication suspicious, it said the circumstances of the crash would become clearer as rescue and recovery efforts move forward.
“The loss of communication is very suspicious, but God will help us anyway. It is very possible for us to get clearer information as things unfold,” the source added.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, also disclosed that air traffic controllers had informed him of the disappearance of the aircraft.
“I regret to inform the general public that air traffic controllers have informed me of the disappearance of a military aircraft with tail number NGR 931, en route from Lagos to Benin, at 0913 hours earlier today. All efforts to raise the aircraft on radio proved abortive,” Keyamo said.
Keyamo later confirmed that the wreckage had been located close to the naval base in Igbokoda.
“Subsequently, information, however, confirmed that the military aircraft had crashed close to the Naval Base in Igbokoda, Ondo State. The wreckage has been located, and search and rescue operations are ongoing,” he said.
Keyamo stated that the aircraft was carrying 32 people, including 25 passengers and seven crew members.
Still, at the time this report was being filed, it was not possible to independently confirm whether the crash had claimed any lives.
Nevertheless, by the time this report was filed, military personnel and emergency responders had stepped up their efforts to recover victims and find the black box of the ill-fated NAF ATR-42 aircraft.
Local fishermen joined the rescue operation as authorities struggled to access the wreckage.
The Nigerian Air Force said the aircraft was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when the accident happened. As of the time this report was filed, the identities and condition of those on board had not yet been officially released.
Reports indicated that the aircraft crashed into a swampy area within the creek, which made it hard to reach the wreckage and slowed the rescue operation.
Military officers from a nearby base were heading the rescue operation, while local fishermen also helped efforts to reach the wreckage.
An eyewitness said, “I could see the military men in the area while some local fishermen too were helping out, but it seems difficult to remove the wreckage because the plane forcefully entered into the swampy area.”
Another eyewitness, who identified himself simply as Sola, said the crash occurred while it was drizzling.
Sola said, “It happened this (Monday) morning, when it was drizzling. We heard a very loud sound at the area where the incident happened, but we couldn’t get there because the place is a swampy area inside the creek. We were just looking at it from afar.
“However, the police and the military people later came around for rescue, but the occupants of the aircraft may have died inside because up till this time I’m speaking with you, nobody has been removed from there, dead or alive. Initially, we thought it was a helicopter, but later we learned that it is an aircraft.”
