The Nigerian Airforce has made it clear that the crash of its F7-Ni fighter aircraft which crashed in Yola yesterday killing the pilot was not as a result of attack by Boko Haram insurgents.
A statement detailing the development signed by Air Commodore Dele Alonge, Director, Airforce Public Relations attributed the crash to bad weather and not enemy attack, saying that already, the Chief of Air staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar has instituted an investigation panel to unravel the remote and immediate cause of the crash.
“A Nigerian Air Force (NAF801) F7-Ni fighter jet returning to the base from an interdicted mission crashed due to bad weather and not under enemy fire around Hong, Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State at about 16.23hrs (4.23 pm).
“There was no survival as the pilot of the aircraft lost his life in the unfortunate incident”.
“Meanwhile, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal SB Abubakar has set up an investigation panel to unravel the remote and immediate causers) of the accident. Further details will be communicated to the media in due course.”
The Air Force fighter jet which was returning from a mission to its base in Yola, capital of northeast Adamawa state, crashed yesterday, killing its pilot.
The jet “returning to the base from an interdicted mission crashed due to bad weather and not under enemy fire around Hong, Adamawa State at about 1623hrs (1523 GMT). There was no survival as the pilot of the aircraft lost his life in the unfortunate incident,” the statement said.
The statement neither said how many passengers were aboard the jet nor its precise mission in Adamawa, one of the three states in the region where Boko Haram militants have launched deadly attacks that have killed hundreds over its six-year insurgency. [myad]
