Air Force promises to make public report of military plane crash

The Nigeria Air Force has promised to ensure a thorough inquest into the recent ghastly military plane mishap which claimed the lives of the former Chief of Army Staff, Attahiru Ibrahim and ten other personnel.

This was contained in a statement issued on Saturday by the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore, Edward Gabkwet.

According to Gabkwet, an investigation into the accident had commenced in collaboration with the Accident Investigation Bureau, and that information would be retrieved from the black box and control tower tapes.

He said, “The AIB said they had found the black box. But as for the time frame for the investigation, maybe I’ll find out and get back to you. Definitely, there will be a time frame. The bottom line is this: as soon as we are ready, we are going to have a joint press briefing and nothing will be hidden. Of course, you know why this latest crash is very important.

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“Air accidents and their investigations are essentially to find out what caused the accidents so as to take lessons to avert similar occurrences in the future. We don’t have to massage any ego at all. If you look at it from that angle, you will know that it is painstakingly and carefully done.

“Some Nigerians have been saying we didn’t come out with the reports on past accidents. But military investigations regarding plane crashes won’t necessarily let the public know what happened because the outcomes have implications on operations, the morale of the pilots, and so many other things.

“However, on the latest accident, we have assured the public that we will let them know the outcome of the investigation so we can all take lessons from there and prevent future crashes.”

By Mayowa Oladeji

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