Abuja – The ill fated military jet that crashed on Friday in Kaduna has top military officers in the entourage of the General Ibrahim Attahiru on board.
The plane crashed close to Kaduna airport where the late Chief of Army Staff was billed to commission a project in one of the military formations in Kaduna State.
It was gathered that the plane crashed as it touched down the runway and caught fire which the Federal fire Service from the station at the Kaduna airport battled to put off to no avail.
The incident has since been confirmed by the Director Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Commodore Edward Gabkwet.
Gabkwet in a tweet said:
“An air crash involving a @NigAirForce aircraft occurred this evening near the Kaduna International Airport.
“The immediate cause of the crash is still being ascertained. More details to follow soon,” the NAF spokesman tweeted.
Though, the military authority was yet to officially reveal the identity of those killed in the crash, unconfirmed sources has the following top military officers on the late Chief of Army Staff’s entourage.
- Lt. Gen. I. Attahiru
- Brig. Gen. MI Abdulkadir
- Brig. Gen. Playing
- Brig. Gen. Kuliya
- Maj. LA Hayat
- Maj. Hamza
- Sgt. Umar
Crew
- Flt. Lt. TO Asaniyi
- Flt Lt. AA Olufade
- Sgt. Adenine
- ACM Oyedepo
According to Newsbreakng.com, the incident was said to have occurred at about 6 pm while it was raining heavily.
The officers apparently were on their way to Kaduna State ahead of tomorrow’s passing out parade of soldiers from the Nigerian Army Depot in Zaria.
The aircraft, with registration number, 5N-R203 was billed to land at the Nigerian Airforce Base in Mando area, before it diverted and attempted to land at the Kaduna airport.
The Air Force has been involved in a couple of tragedies this year.
An Air Force jet supporting ground troops fighting Boko Haram terrorists went missing in north-east Borno in March.
In February, seven officials died after a military plane crashed in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
