NEWS
Chief of Army staff, Ibrahim Attahiru, 10 others killed in plane crash [VIDEO]
A military Beachcraft 350 aircraft has crashed at the Kaduna International Airport on Friday, claiming all eleven souls onboard including the newly appointed Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru.
It was gathered that the ill-fated aircraft crashed at the airport’s runway about 6 pm.
The aircraft, with registration number 5N-R203, was billed to land at the Nigerian Airforce Base in the Mando area of Kaduna before it diverted and attempted to land at the Kaduna International Airport.
The Nigerian Air Force confirmed that there was an accident involving one of its aircraft in Kaduna but did not provide details.
“An air crash involving a @NigAirForce aircraft occurred this evening near the Kaduna International Airport. The immediate cause of the crash is still being ascertained. More details to follow soon,” the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Edward Gabkwet, said in a statement.
Not less than 20 military officers have lost their lives in the last three months in three crashes involving Nigerian Air Force jets.
On Sunday, February 21, 2021, seven NAF officers died onboard a Beechcraft KingAir B350i aircraft when the jet crashed in Abuja.
Also, on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, NAF spokesman, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said an Alpha-Jet aircraft involved in the anti-terror war against Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province lost radar contact in Borno State.
Two officers were on board the missing jet which was later declared crashed and the whereabouts of the two airmen unknown to date.
The Nigerian Air Force has now issued a statement confirming that there was a crash, but did not immediately say the personalities onboard.
The plane was the third military jet operated by the Nigerian Air Force to crash this year.
