Another NAF jet reportedly crashes in Kaduna, force reacts
ANIGERIANAIR Force ( NAF) fighter jet, supposedly heading for Yola, Adamawa State, to fight terrorists yesterday, was reported by an online platform to have crashed in Kaduna State.
NAF has recorded three air crashes in the past few months.
But a military source said: “No crash in Kaduna. No aircraft left Yola for Kaduna. I am making contact and awaiting information from other locations.”
Deadly plane crashes in military operations have raised concerns over safety of the airspace in general.
Aviation stakeholders had said that though the development was a minus on Nigeria’s safety record in global aviation, the sequence of occurrences warranted new precautionary measures to avert more disasters, especially in the rainy season.
Experts had specifically called for independent investigation of all recent crashes in military operations, public disclosure of findings and recommendations, a Marshall Plan of action and proper funding for military operations as critical arm of security and the economy.
Prior to the NAF203 plane crash that killed the Chief of Army Staff ( COAS) and 10 others, a similar Beechcraft King350 airplane ( NAF201) had crashed in February killing all eight officers on board.
Few months ago, a NAF fighter jet was declared missing and suspected to have crashed. While Boko Haram claimed to have shot it down, the military spoke in denial.
Another source told The Guardian that the aircraft was crashed in Kaduna with no casualty.
The source said the pilot on board ejected successfully from the aircraft before it crashed.
Unsure of the location of the incident, the source guessed that it might have crashed at either Birnin- Gwari or a boundary between Katsina and Kaduna states.
“The plane was on a mission to fight bandits. The pilot successfully ejected from the aircraft before the crash,” he added.