The Federal Government has launched investigation into the air crash that killed Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 other military officers on Friday.
Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika disclosed this in a tweet late Saturday.
Sirika tweeted: “With heavy heart we in Civil Aviation commiserate with the Nation & the C-in-C on the NAF air crash.
“Investigation has commenced today in accordance with our recent MOU with the military. We pray Allah grant mercy to their souls & may the outcome prevent future occurrence.”
The Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (Black Box) are both found and in the custody of our Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB). These recorders are critical to the investigation and will make things easier and faster. 🇳🇬🇳🇬🤲🏽😩😩😩🤲🏽🇳🇬🇳🇬
— Hadi Sirika (@hadisirika) May 22, 2021
Nigeria was thrown into deep mourning on Friday as a military plane — Beachcraft 350 aircraft– carrying Attahiru and 10 other officers crashed near the Kaduna International Airport runway.
The COAS was en route Kaduna from Abuja when the unfortunate incident happened.
Amid an ocean of tears and sorrow, the deceased were buried on Saturday at the National Military Cemetery, Abuja.
Meanwhile, the Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria (AIB-N) says it has recovered the black box from the crash site in Kaduna.
According to a statement issued by AIB-N General Manager, Public Affairs, Tunji Oketunbi, the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) from the accidented aircraft had been recovered.
He also noted that investigation has begun the crash, noting that investigators would download and analyse vital information contained in the recorders at the AIB-N’s world class Flight Safety Laboratory, in Abuja.
Oketunbi added that the mandate given to AIB-N is based on the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two agencies on July 1, 2020 covering areas of mutual assistance.
