Five days after a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) ATR-42 aircraft crashed in Igbokoda, Ondo State, and claimed 25 lives, the Air Force has launched efforts to recover the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder in a bid to establish the cause of the tragedy.
The recovery of the two critical recording devices, commonly known as the aircraft’s black boxes, is expected to provide investigators with vital clues about the aircraft’s performance, cockpit communications and final moments before it crashed into a swamp in Igbokoda, the headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The aircraft, which was on a mission from Benin City, Edo State, to Lagos, crashed on Monday near the Nigerian Navy’s Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Igbokoda, killing 20 passengers and five crew members.
The aircraft became submerged in the swamp after the crash, posing significant challenges to recovery operations and the search for critical components of the wreckage.
Speaking at the crash site on Friday, the NAF Superintendent of Standards and Evaluation, Air Vice Marshal Ebimobo Ebiowe, said investigators were searching for components that could help establish what happened to the aircraft before the fatal incident.
He identified the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) as among the critical components the investigation team hoped to recover.
“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),” Ebiowe said.
The flight data recorder captures information about an aircraft’s operation, including flight parameters, while the cockpit voice recorder preserves cockpit conversations, alarms and other sounds that may help investigators reconstruct the sequence of events before a crash.
Aviation experts said the recovery and analysis of the devices could provide important clues to the cause of the accident, although their findings would need to be examined alongside physical evidence from the wreckage and other technical findings.
One of the experts, Mr. Olugbenga Afolabi, said the recorders were among the critical components investigators would be looking for.
He explained that the flight data recorder could provide information about the aircraft’s performance, while the cockpit voice recorder could help establish the communications and events inside the cockpit before the crash.
Their recovery, he added, could assist investigators in determining the sequence of events leading to the accident.
The search for the black boxes comes as the Nigerian Navy deploys specialised sonar equipment to locate the submerged aircraft and support the ongoing recovery operation.
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 the crash site to obtain an underwater picture of the location.
The deployment became necessary because of the swamp’s high turbidity, which has made underwater visibility extremely difficult.
The Commanding Officer of the Officers’ Mess at the Forward Operating Base, Igbokoda, Navy Captain Andy Alemongwa, said the sonar survey would help map the crash site and establish the precise location of the submerged aircraft.
He explained that the information gathered 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,” Alemongwa 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, were also at the site to inspect the ongoing operation.
Air Chief promises comprehensive investigation
Meanwhile, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, has assured Nigerians that the military will 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 relevant aviation investigation and safety bodies, emergency management agencies, retired senior military officers and experienced NAF personnel.
According to him, the investigation would examine the available evidence to determine 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.
“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 said.
The Air Chief urged Nigerians to allow the specialists to complete their work, describing the loss of the personnel as a tragedy for the armed forces and the country.
He said: “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.
“We in the Air Force leave no stone unturned. When it comes to safety, everything is ensured.”
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,” the Air Chief said.