A military aircraft that crashed on Monday had disappeared from radar shortly after take-off, according to a senior Air Traffic Controller familiar with the aircraft’s final journey.
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.
The senior Air Traffic Controller, who spoke with the news men on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment on the matter, said communication with the aircraft was established shortly after it took off, but contact was subsequently lost, with efforts to reconnect proving unsuccessful.
“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,” the source said.
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 military immediately commenced search-and-rescue efforts after it was reported that the aircraft had disappeared from radar.
The source, however, stressed that the ongoing search-and-rescue operation would provide more information about what happened.