Chief of Army staff, 16 others killed as three NAF jets crash within three months

Seventeen 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.

The jet en route Minna in Niger State crashed close to the runway of the Abuja airport after reporting engine failure.

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 onboard the missing jet which was later declared crashed and the whereabouts of the two airmen unknown till date.

Fresh in the series of fatal accidents of NAF jets was Friday crash involving the newly appointed Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru.

Attahiru and seven others were onboard a NAF Beachcraft 350 aircraft on May 21, 2021 when the automobile bird crashed near the Kaduna International Airport.

“An air crash involving a Nigerian Air Force 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 spokesman said in a statement.

The frequent crashes of NAF jets have raised concerns around the safety of military aviation in Nigeria. While civil aviation has recorded no crash involving commercial flights in about a decade, military jets have been crashing in quick succession, one which experts say is not good for the safety record of the country.