Ondo Crash: ‘Aircraft Disappearance From Radar, Loss Of Communications Are Suspicious’ – Military Source

A senior Air Traffic Controller familiar with the military aircraft crash in Ondo State has said the aircraft’s disappearance from radar shortly after take-off and the loss of communication are very suspicious.

Naija News reports that the aircraft, with tail number NGR 931, was travelling from Benin City, the Edo State capital, to Lagos when air traffic controllers lost contact with it at about 9:13am, before it crashed into a swamp in Igbokoda, the headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area in Ondo State.

In an interview with Punch, the senior Air Traffic Controller, whose identity was not disclosed, said communication with the aircraft was established shortly after it took off but was subsequently lost, and efforts to reconnect proved unsuccessful.

According to the source, personnel at the closest reporting points in Okitipupa later reported hearing a loud bang believed to have been the sound of the crash.

The source said the circumstances surrounding the crash would become clearer as rescue and recovery operations progress.

The source said, “I must tell you that this is looking somehow shoddy. When the aircraft took off, we were in touch with it shortly afterward, but it disappeared from the radar. Efforts to reach it were unsuccessful.

“But it was strange. Almost immediately after it took off, we lost communication with it. There was no communication, nothing. And that makes it suspicious. The aircraft just vanished until the crash.

“Even as we speak, the search-and-rescue operation is still ongoing, and when that is concluded, I should be able to get more information.

“The loss of communication is very suspicious, but God will help us anyway. It is very possible for us to get clearer information as things unfold.”

A resident in Ondo State, simply known as Sola, who spoke with the aforementioned publication, said the crash occurred while it was drizzling.

Sola said, “It happened this (Monday) morning, when it was drizzling. We heard a very loud sound at the area where the incident happened, but we couldn’t get there because the place is a swampy area inside the creek. We were just looking at it from afar.

“However, the police and the military people later came around for rescue, but the occupants of the aircraft may have died inside because up till this time I’m speaking with you, nobody has been removed from there, dead or alive. Initially, we thought it was a helicopter, but later we learnt that it is an aircraft.”

Another eyewitness added, “I could see the military men in the area while some local fishermen too were helping out, but it seems difficult to remove the wreckage because the plane forcefully entered into the swampy area.”