The Nigerian Air Force aircraft that crashed in Igbokoda, Ondo State, reportedly disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from Benin City. This incident is now widely known as the Ondo NAF plane crash.
According to The PUNCH, a senior air traffic controller said contact with the ATR-42 aircraft was established after take-off but was subsequently lost despite repeated attempts to reach it. The Ondo NAF plane crash has caused significant concern within the aviation sector.
The aircraft, with tail number NGR 931, was travelling to Lagos when controllers lost contact at about 9.13am on Monday.
‘There was no communication’
“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 air traffic controller said regarding the Ondo NAF plane crash.
Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo also confirmed that air traffic controllers had informed him when contact with the aircraft was lost.
The wreckage was later located near the Nigerian Navy base in Igbokoda.
32 people aboard plane
Keyamo said 25 passengers and seven crew members were aboard the aircraft during the Ondo NAF plane crash.
The Nigerian Air Force said the plane was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when it crashed.
Military personnel, emergency responders and local fishermen joined recovery operations in the swampy area.
Authorities are also working to recover the aircraft’s black box as investigations into the cause of the crash continue.
