Twenty nine (29) years ago, one of the saddest events in Nigeria’s military aviation history occurred.
On September 26, 1992, 158 passengers and five crew members comprising some of the country’s best middle-ranking military hands died in the ill-fated NAF 911. The aircraft took off from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 4:16pm and a few minutes later, just as it was about to climb its authorised altitude, the outer starboard engine backfired and stopped abruptly.
According to reports, Lockheed C130s are typically built to withstand engine failure of up to two engines so there was no need for or a sense of panic among the crew when it happened. Things however took a turn for the worse when a second engine failure (inner starboard) happened while the pilot was still trying to navigate back to base and it became obvious that the best bet would be an emergency landing as the aircraft was unable to make the turn and while this was still being contemplated, the third engine (portside) also gave way and the aircraft nosedived into a swamp in Ejigbo area of Lagos.
The crash remains unsolved to this date.
The Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), on Sunday, held a memorial service in honour of the departed souls. This is the fourth year the college would be hosting the memorial for the officers who were its students. The commandant, AVM Ebenezer Alade, said the College had erected a cenotaph with the names of the fallen heroes, where their families can visit to remember their loved ones.
In the last 10 years alone, between 2011 and 2021, at least 10 aircrafts belonging to the Nigerian Air Force have crashed in different parts of the country.
A common denominator in all the crashes is a promise of investigation by the Air Force authorities, yet, none of the reports has been made public in the last 10 years.
In February this year, the Chief of Air Staff, AVM Oladayo Amao instituted an investigative panel to determine the remote and immediate causes of the crash of a Beechcraft KingAir B350i (NAF201), which occurred while the aircraft was on its way back to Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Abuja, after reporting engine failure enroute Minna, Niger State.
President Muhammadu Buhari had, in reacting to the incident, also assured that investigations would be carried out to ascertain the cause (s) of the accident.
While the findings of this investigative panel, which membership and timeline for completion of investigation and presentation of report are still unknown, was still being awaited, the Chief of Army Staff, General Ibrahim Attahiru, met his tragic end in an air force aircraft, Beechcraft 350, that crashed in Kaduna in May 2021. The aircraft was said to have caught fire before it crashed.
As usual, the air force said it was investigating the cause of the crash but not much has been heard since then, even though the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) which was jointly carrying out the investigation, submitted an interim report earlier this month, which details have yet to be made public. Chief Executive Officer of AIB, Akin Olateru, who presented the report to the Chief of Air Staff, Isyaka Amao, said it contained 27 findings and eight recommendations for immediate implementation.
It is noteworthy that the two Beechcraft King 350 crashed in quick succession, raising concerns about the remaining two in the fleet of the air force. Apart from the cost of the aircraft, estimated to be about $8 million, they are relatively new as they were acquired a few years back. They are also not strange air crafts, as they are said to be among the most popular in the corporate world, with over 3,500 series 200 and 300 worldwide.
These air crashes raise concerns over the nation’s airspace in general and state of air force aircrafts in particular. It is even more worrisome that after each one, the dead are mourned and the living carry on with their lives without looking back to know what has happened and how to avert future occurrence.
Each time any of these air crashes happens, all manner of theories spring up in the very vibrant Nigeria media space, a lot of them alleging sabotage, carelessness or negligence.
It is imperative, therefore, that these crashes be thoroughly investigated and their findings made public. Perhaps, this will assuage the minds of Nigerians and put to rest some of the theories.
Also, the government needs to invest more in safe weather tower equipment and ensure periodic maintenance of same across the country’s airports, as inclement weather has often been said to be a factor in some of the incidents.
Regulatory agencies such as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the military aviation units, must also step up their game in regulating the country’s airspace and equipment.
The military must invest in training and retraining of air officers, as pilot errors have also been fingered in some of these mishaps, by industry stakeholders, especially in the case of the Beechcraft King 350, which is said to be unforgiving of pilot errors.
These, among other things, should be done to honour the memory of those who have died, especially victims of NAF-911, who are fondly remembered at this time by their families, friends and associates.
