The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says the capability of its young pilots and those that flew the NAF Beechcraft King Air 350i that crashed last Friday in Kaduna, killing the Chief of Army Staff and 10 others, should not be called to question as they have more flying hours than some senior officers.
Nigerians have questioned why young officers should be allow to fly such a senior military officer like the army chief, instead of senior officers with vast experience.
But NAF spokesperson, Air Commodore, Edward Gabkwet, said the flight captain who flew the ill-fated military plane, Taiwo Asaniyi, was a Flying Lieutenant with thousands of flying hours.
He said the late pilot, and some of his colleagues including the one that flies the President, had been flying since they were cadets at the Nigerian Defence Academy.
He said, “On people saying a senior ranking officer should have flown the Chief of Army Staff and others, people don’t know him (the captain of the crashed plane). He and the pilot flying the President are both Flight Lieutenants. He flew more hours than some of us. He had been flying since his time at the Nigerian Defence Academy. He started flying as a cadet.
“As a captain on the Beechcraft, he had flown 2,450 hours, which was in 2019. So he would have flown nothing less than 5,000 hours since his cadet days. He had been flying the COAS and other VVIPs on that same Beechcraft. He was 29 years old. Because he had an accident doesn’t mean he didn’t have experience.
“He travelled every year for retraining. Our training involves a partnership with the manufacturers of the planes. It is rigorous; it’s not something taken with levity.”
