By Dayo Johnson, Akure
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has commenced efforts to recover the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder of its ATR-42 aircraft that crashed in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, on Monday.
The aircraft, with tail number NGR 931, was on a routine flight from Benin to Lagos when it crashed into a swamp opposite the Naval Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Igbokoda.
All 25 personnel aboard the aircraft, including crew members, died in the crash.
Five days after the accident, the main wreckage was yet to be excavated, while the remains of the victims were yet to be fully recovered.
This is despite the deployment of heavy-duty amphibious excavators, known as swamp buggies, to the crash site.
Only fragments of the aircraft had been recovered as of Saturday.
The heavy equipment, deployed by the Ondo State Government, arrived alongside technical personnel armed with specialised detection equipment to pinpoint the location of the submerged wreckage.
The swampy terrain, located about 500 metres east of the naval base, has made access and recovery particularly challenging, with initial attempts using small boats and canoes proving inadequate.
Speaking at the crash site on Saturday, the NAF Superintendent of Standards and Evaluation, Air Vice Marshal Ebimobo Ebiowe, said investigators were searching for critical components of the wreckage that could help establish the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
Ebiowe identified the flight data recorder (FDR), commonly known as the black box, and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) as key components investigators hoped to recover.
He said, “We hope to be able to find critical components of the aircraft that will speak to the investigators because the aircraft wreckage actually speaks to the investigators.
“One of them is what the ordinary man (civilian) calls the black box. We call it the flight data recorder (FDR), and another component close to it, the cockpit voice recorder (CVR).”
The recorders are expected to provide crucial evidence to help investigators reconstruct the aircraft’s final moments and determine the factors that led to the crash.
Aviation experts also said recovering and analysing the devices could provide important clues to the cause of the accident, although their findings would need to be assessed alongside other evidence from the wreckage and crash site.
One of the experts, Mr Olugbenga Afolabi, said the recorders were among the critical components investigators would be looking for.
He said the flight data recorder captured information about an aircraft’s performance and flight parameters, while the cockpit voice recorder preserved cockpit conversations, alarms and other sounds that could help investigators understand the crew’s actions before the crash.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Navy has deployed specialised sonar equipment to locate the submerged aircraft as recovery operations continue.
The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, directed the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Department to deploy personnel and advanced sonar-scanning equipment to obtain an underwater picture of the crash site.
Abbas said the deployment became necessary because of the swamp’s high turbidity, which had made underwater visibility extremely difficult.
The Commanding Officer of the Officers’ Mess at the Forward Operating Base, Igbokoda, Navy Captain Andy Alemongwa, who received the personnel, said the sonar survey would help map the crash site and establish the precise location of the submerged aircraft.
Alemongwa explained that the information would guide divers and other technical personnel involved in the recovery operation.
The operation is also being supported by Nigerian Navy divers and NAF drone pilots conducting searches across the surrounding mangrove and forested areas, he said.
The Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Abubakar Abdullahi Mustapha, and the Air Officer Commanding, Logistics Command, NAF, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar Abdul Suleh, have also visited the crash site.
Air Chief: We’ll get to bottom of crash
Earlier, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, assured Nigerians that the military would conduct a comprehensive investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the crash and prevent a recurrence.
Aneke, who appealed to the public to avoid speculation, said a high-level team comprising military and civilian aviation safety experts had been constituted to investigate the incident.
He said the team would include safety specialists, representatives of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, the Accident Investigation Bureau, emergency management agencies, retired senior military officers and experienced NAF personnel.
According to him, the team would examine the circumstances of the crash and establish what went wrong.
“I have inspected the crash site, and I want to use this opportunity to thank the good people of Ondo State and our governor. They have committed resources, time and energy,” Aneke said.
“I had informed my Superintendent of Safety and Evaluation to come up with a high-level delegation comprising both military and civilian safety experts, the NTSB, Accident and Emergency Management Board, retired senior officers and experienced Air Force officers, to sit down and get to the bottom of what happened,” he added.
Aneke urged Nigerians to allow specialists to complete their investigation, describing the deaths of the personnel as a tragedy for the armed forces and the country.
“This is not the time to start speculating, and I plead with the general public. We’ve lost people who are fighting for the nation. The best we can do for them is to be a little bit patient and let those who are specialists get to the bottom of what has happened,” he said.
The Air Chief added that the NAF remained committed to safety, noting that aviation operations required rigorous attention to potential risks.
He also disclosed that he and members of his family had previously flown in the same aircraft, expressing grief over the deaths of the crew members, whom he described as highly trained and professional officers.
“I basically knew everyone on that flight. I have flown on this aeroplane. My family has flown on this aeroplane. I know each of the crew personally. They are highly trained, professional and intelligent officers.
“The best we can do is to honour the sacrifice they have made for those on board this aeroplane,” Aneke said.
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