Military Plane Crash In Benue State Kills 14

Tragedy: Another Air Disaster In Nigeria!

8 Generals, 6 Others Feared Dead
From Donald Andoor in Abuja and Abel Orih-Idoma in Makurdi, 09.18.2006

 • Bamali, Adesunloye on board

The nation was yesterday thrown into mourning as an Obudu Ranch-bound Dornier 228 military aircraft, carrying senior Army officers crashed at Vandekiya in Benue State, killing 14 of the 18 passengers and crew on board.

Confirming the tragedy in a statement in Calabar, Cross River State, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Owoeye Azazi, said the ill-fated aircraft was flying the senior officers from Abuja to Obudu for the Chief of Army Staff Retreat on ‘The Future of the Military in the Next Decade’ when it crashed between 9am and 10am, 18 nautical miles from its destination. 

The COAS, who would not confirm neither figure nor the identity of casualty until their families had been informed, said rescue operations were on even as the military hierarchy had ordered investigations into the crash.
THISDAY information, however, has it that about eight Generals, including two General Officers Commanding (GOCs), two Lieutenant Colonels and four other officers might have been killed in the crash that left only four survivors who were said to be in very critical conditions last night.

Unconfirmed information also said that the GOC, 2nd Mechanised Division, Ibadan, Maj.Gen. Nuhu Bamali, the GOC 81 Garrison Division, Ikeja, Maj. Gen. Adesunloye, and the Director of Operations Army Headquarters, Brig. Gen. S.M. Lemu, were among the officers on board.

Preliminary investigations, according to further information, said the aircraft might have ran into bad weather.
The tragedy immediately attracted a condolence message from the Cross River State Government, which spoke through the Deputy Governor, Elder Walter Eneji.

According to a statement in Calabar by the Press Secretary to the state governor, Mr. Joseph Ushigiale, the deputy governor had conveyed the heartfelt condolences of the people and government of the state to the Federal Government through the Chief of Army Staff.

Speaking to THISDAY, however, Director of Defence Information, Brigadier-General Felix Chukwuma, said on the receipt of the news of the incident, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Martin Luther Agwai, dispatched both the Army and Air Force service chiefs (General Azazi and Air Marshal Dike) to Cross River State to command the search and rescue operation.
Also speaking in a telephone interview with THISDAY, the Director of Public Relations and Information (DOPRI) of the Nigerian Air Force, Group Captain Emeka Ozoemena, said the General Officer Comma-nding (GOC) 82 Division, Enugu, Major-General Abdul-hafeez Adewuyi, who was scheduled to receive the officer on arrival, had to lead the search and rescue team that was dispatched to the scene of the crash.

Ozoemena assured Nige-rians that the Nigeria Air Force would unveil the manifest of the crashed plane to the public today, explaining: “We want to avoid a situation where the press would begin to speculate on the names. It is proper for us to inform the families of the deceased before releasing their names to the press.”

THISDAY gathered that immediately the news of the crash got to the military headquarters, a search and rescue team made up of a military helicopter, and another from the police were dispatched to the scene of the crash.
Reports from Makurdi, capital of Benue State, said a convoy of the state Governor, Dr. George Akume, left the state capital for the scene of the incident as 6:25 pm, possibly with the Chief of Army Staff.

The Makurdi – Gboko Road became unusually busy as motorists eager to get to the scene of the accident, which was over 100km, were seen speeding off in their vehicles. Makurdi, the state capital, is in a gloomy mood with groups of people seen in secluded circles discussing the air crash in hush tones, worried whether any of the occupants of the air craft is some one known and dear to them.

Yesterday’s crash is the most fatal air crash involving military officers since1992, when a military aircraft plunged into the creeks in Ejigbo, few minutes after take off from the Lagos Interna-tional Airport, killing 192 junior and senior officeßs, as well as the crew on board.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=58628

This is very sad    We really need to reverse this ugly trend in our country's aviation

what a bad situation
i pray 2 God 2 assist d families of d deceased and grant eternal rest to the dead ones, what a painful situation,
r we stil using Molue planes in Nigeria after those bellview and sosoliso mishap, God take control

 
God bless the dead souls
 

Its really pathetic. Something urgent needs to be done on our Nations aviation sector and the state of our planes. The attribution of every crash to bad weather should no longer be accepted. We have metreologists all over the nation and these people always give situation reports on regular basis. Why then should a plane fly when the weather is not condusive. We as a nation should learn to adhere to standard procedures, facilities and aircrafts. My Sympathy to the Nation, NA and affected families. May all souls of the deceased rest in perfect peace, Amen!

"Military sources said the Army boss escaped the crash when he got to the airport few minutes after the plane had left. Having missed the flight, he was to join the second batch when the aircraft would have returned from Obudu. He allegedly returned to his Niger Barracks home, with some of his principal officers equally billed to travel with him, to wait for the second flight."

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2006/sept/18/national-18-09-2006-01.htm

With Nigeria's history, this smells fishy,

@ Odeku, I hear you my brother,  I do smell some rat. We need to go back on our knees and pray for the nation of Nigeria. We truly need God's intervention

Plane crashes are sad, but many more people die on the road every day.  I think we just need to maintain our aircraft better.  If possible, we should try not to blow these incidents out of proportion.

Did the plane crash or Explode? I smell conspiracy here. But the NAF cannot maintain their Jets, then they should expect more crashes. But i would not rule out "Foul Play".

  I don't know why this plane crash stuff keeps happening only here in Nigeria.
there are numerous African neighboring countries all around us, but we keep hearing this
particular story from Nigeria.
i think something i wrong somewhere.
some people should be brougt to book. 

May their soul rest in perfect peace

The dornier 228 that crashed was a turboprop not a jet but yes apparantly maintenance is an issue that needs to be critically looked into.

am not really hurted because this is ain't new stuff. so i can smile  the truth is that that is a plain coup de etat ,that is  coup they killed all the major them kon leave the low rank officers .well thats their own plava not mine. rember this is a coup

Must we always experience one aviation disaster or another about this time every year? Hmmm! Na wa 4 2007 ooo!!!!!!!!!!!

Concorde was supposed to be the fastest and one of the safest planes of all time 0f all time. It crashed in 2000, space shuttle blew up. Maintenance issues aside, stuff messes up all the time we should all be lucky whenever we get out of planes alive. It sucks that we lost all that military talent, I hope the government takes care of their families.