Intelligence sources have disclosed that the two Pilots who were feared killed in the Super Mushark Trainer aircraft that crashed at the Kaduna Flight Training School are Flight Lieutenants Alkali and Flight Lieutenant Karatu, who were recent graduates of the Nigeria Defence Academy, NDA.
Though all efforts to get the NAF authorities to speak on the crash on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, proved abortive, a source said this was due to investigation and non-confirmation of the casualty situation.
“Besides, by a standard procedure, if indeed the pilots of the aircraft were confirmed dead, the NAF would inform the families of the pilots before it will be made public”.
According to sources, the two officers were among the Nigerian Airforce officers who returned from Pakistan in April 2021 following a six-month training in the country, where the aircraft is manufactured.
Recall that the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, acquired 10 Super Mushsak aircraft from Pakistan between 2017 and 2018 to enhance its training and operational efficiency.
While five of the aircraft were delivered in 2017, another five were delivered in 2017 from Pakistan.
The crash of the trainer aircraft brings to four, the number of NAF plane crashes in recent months.
Eleven 11 months ago, Lt. Gen Ibrahim Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff, and 10 other senior military officers were killed in a NAF’s Beechcraft 350, which crashed around the Kaduna International Airport.
On August 29, 2015, and 2021, Nigeria suffered 11 military plane crashes with no fewer than 33 military officers perishing.
On March 21, 2021, a Beechcraft KingAir350i crashed with all seven officers on board confirmed dead in Abuja after it had gone to support the war against banditry in Niger state. On April 3’rd; 2021 an Alpha Jet crashed while supporting troops in the North-East.
Source: Vanguard
