By Cross Udo, Abuja
Thirty-two people aboard a Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft are feared dead after the aircraft crashed into a swampy area near the Naval Base in Igbokoda, Ondo State, on Monday, with no survivors reported from the crash site as of 10 p.m. update.
The aircraft, carrying 25 passengers and seven crew members, was on a routine mission from Benin, Edo State, to Lagos when air traffic controllers lost contact with it at about 9:13 a.m., before the wreckage was located close to the naval facility.
The Nigerian Air Force has not formally released a casualty figure, but the circumstances at the crash site, statements by Ondo State authorities and the Presidency’s decision to mourn those aboard have heightened fears that all 32 occupants may have been lost.
Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa said residents, security personnel and emergency responders who reached the difficult terrain had not found anyone alive.
The governor said information available to him indicated that “no single life was saved up to this moment”, adding that responders could not find “any living soul” from the aircraft.
The grim development came as President Bola Tinubu mourned the occupants and directed the Nigerian Air Force to commence a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President extended condolences to the families of the 25 passengers and seven crew members, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, and the entire Nigerian Air Force.
“This is a painful moment for our Armed Forces and for the entire nation. Our Air Force personnel put their lives on the line every day to secure Nigeria. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Tinubu said.
The President said the Chief of the Air Staff had briefed him and directed the Air Force to establish the cause of the crash and take steps to prevent a recurrence.
“I have directed the Nigerian Air Force to immediately commence a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash to prevent future occurrences,” he said.
Tinubu also commended the Nigerian Air Force for activating its search-and-rescue operation and praised first responders and the Ondo State Government for their intervention at the crash site.
*How the flight ended in tragedy
The aircraft, identified as an ATR-42 with tail number NGR 931, disappeared from radar after departing Benin for Lagos, triggering an immediate effort to establish its whereabouts.
Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo disclosed that air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft at about 9:13 a.m., adding that repeated attempts to raise it by radio proved unsuccessful.
He subsequently announced that information received from the field confirmed that the aircraft had crashed close to the Naval Base in Igbokoda and that the wreckage had been located.
Keyamo said preliminary information indicated that 25 passengers and seven crew members were aboard, bringing the total number of people on the flight to 32.
The Nigerian Air Force later confirmed that the aircraft belonged to the service and said it was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when the accident occurred.
The NAF said it immediately activated search-and-rescue operations in coordination with relevant authorities and emergency response agencies, but its initial statement did not give any casualty figure.
That distinction remains important, as the Air Force has yet to issue a formal statement declaring all 32 occupants dead.
However, the Presidency’s statement mourning those aboard, coupled with the Ondo governor’s account that no survivor had been found, has substantially deepened fears that the crash resulted in the loss of everyone on board.
*Pilot reportedly steered aircraft away from town
Emerging accounts surrounding the final moments of the flight suggest that the aircraft may have been directed away from the built-up part of Igbokoda before plunging into the swamp.
A report by GWG, cited in the developing accounts of the crash, suggested that the pilot steered the aircraft away from the town before it came down in the swamp.
That possibility, if established by the eventual investigation, could become one of the most significant details in reconstructing the final moments of the flight, particularly because the aircraft came down near a populated coastal community.
The circumstances should, however, be treated as preliminary until investigators establish what happened in the cockpit and whether the aircraft remained controllable during its final moments.
The Olu of Igbokoda, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, said the aircraft crashed into a river and swampy area while it was raining, and expressed relief that the aircraft did not come down inside the town.
“Our first thanks to Almighty God is that it did not happen inside the town; otherwise, the casualties would have been too many,” the traditional ruler said.
He added that the aircraft did not catch fire but that a substantial portion had gone into the water, while information gathered at the scene suggested there was no survivor.
Eyewitness accounts also described a violent impact, with residents reporting a sound similar to thunder before rushing towards the crash site.
One eyewitness said aircraft fragments, human remains, clothing and shoes were scattered around the swamp, with some remains reportedly found in the water.
The difficult terrain and waterlogged condition of the area complicated access to the wreckage, with naval personnel and residents involved in efforts to reach the site.
*Tinubu, Aiyedatiwa, others mourn
In Ondo, Governor Aiyedatiwa mobilised the State Emergency Management Agency, Ministry of Health and relevant security agencies to support the Nigerian Air Force and other responders.
The governor also directed that the crash site be cordoned off and secured to allow rescue and recovery operations to proceed without interference.
Aiyedatiwa said he remained in contact with the Nigerian Air Force, the Ilaje Local Government chairman and security agencies on the ground, while urging residents to cooperate with emergency personnel and avoid circulating unverified information.
The Olu of Igbokoda similarly expressed concern over the disaster, particularly the possibility that the aircraft could have crashed into the town and caused even greater civilian casualties.
The tragedy has meanwhile triggered widespread mourning within the Armed Forces, with the Presidency extending condolences to the families of those aboard and assuring the Nigerian Air Force of continued federal support.
*FG orders thorough probe
With the fate of the 32 occupants now the central concern, the next phase of the operation is expected to focus on recovery, identification and determination of what caused the aircraft to crash.
Tinubu’s directive places the Nigerian Air Force at the centre of the investigation, while the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau has clarified that it cannot independently investigate the military accident unless formally invited by the military authorities.
The NSIB said military aviation accidents fall outside its statutory mandate but offered technical assistance, including deployment of investigators and use of its Flight Safety Laboratory to recover and analyse flight data and cockpit voice recordings if requested by the Air Force.
The bureau stressed that its position was not a refusal to assist but a recognition of the legal responsibility assigned to the military for accidents involving military aircraft.
The investigation will therefore be expected to establish the aircraft’s operational condition, flight path, communications with air traffic controllers, weather conditions and what occurred in the cockpit before the aircraft went down.
It will also have to determine whether the pilot was able to control the aircraft in its final moments and whether the decision, if confirmed, to steer away from the populated area contributed to the location of the crash.
For now, however, officials have not attributed the disaster to mechanical failure, weather, human error or any other specific cause.
