By Iliya Kure
A military training aircraft belonging to Nigerian Airforce (NAF) has crashed in Kaduna, northern Nigeria, with at least 2 officers reportedly killed.
The Air Force authority is yet to issue an official statement on the incident, but sources told AFRICA PRIME NEWS, that the plane has on board two pilots.
According to the source, the plane involved was a trainer aircraft, Super Mushak, while on a training mission.
In the last three days, residents of Kaduna have seen Air Force aircraft hovering the city in what can generally be described as flight training.
Last year, a military plane, Beechcraft 350, conveying former Chief of Army Staff, Ibrahim Attahiru, and 10 others crashed in Kaduna, killing all officers onboard, including the Chief of Army Staff.
In 2021 alone, the Air Force has lost at least three jets. They were the Beechcraft KingAir350i which went down with all seven officers on board in Abuja on March 21, 2021; the Alpha Jet which crashed while supporting troops in the North-East on April 3, 2021, and the crash of a military jet conveying Nigeria’s 25th Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 other officers in Kaduna.
Between August 29, 2015, and 2021, Nigeria had lost 11 military planes due to crashes with no fewer than 33 military officers perishing.
These include the Air Force plane crash, which killed seven onboard (August 29, 2015) in Kaduna; the F-7NI jet on October 10, 2015, and the Augusta Westland crash in Makurdi (November 15).