The Nigerian Air Force has stepped up efforts to locate the flight data and cockpit voice recorders of its aircraft that crashed in a swamp in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, with the main wreckage still difficult to retrieve.
The ATR-42 aircraft, marked NGR 931, went down on October 5 while on a routine flight from Benin to Lagos. All 25 people on board were reported dead in the incident.
Five days after the crash, much of the aircraft remained beneath the swamp, while recovery teams had managed to retrieve only fragments. The Ondo State Government deployed heavy-duty amphibious machines to support operations in the difficult terrain.
Air Vice Marshal Ebimobo Ebiowe, the NAF Superintendent of Standards and Evaluation, said the search team was working to recover key components needed to establish the circumstances surrounding the disaster.
The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, popularly called black boxes, are considered crucial to the investigation because they contain information about the aircraft’s performance and communications in the moments before the crash.
The Nigerian Navy has also joined the operation, deploying sonar equipment through its Hydrographic Department to help identify the location of the submerged wreckage. The technology is expected to assist search teams working in the swamp’s murky waters.
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, said a team of military personnel and civilian aviation safety specialists would investigate the incident.
He urged the public to refrain from speculation while the team works to determine the cause of the crash.
Aneke expressed sorrow over the loss of the personnel, describing them as skilled professionals.
He also acknowledged the Ondo State Government’s assistance with the recovery effort and pledged a thorough investigation to establish what happened and help prevent similar incidents.
