Between 2015 and 2023, Nigeria under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari experienced 14 military air crashes, resulting in the loss of 15 aircraft.
During the review period, 33 military personnel were killed in crashes, and the whereabouts of two others are still unknown.
Despite assurances from the Nigerian Air Force, the cause of the incidents has not been made public.
However, experts blamed the mishap primarily on poor aircraft maintenance.
Moreover, despite the addition of the Super Tucano jet, the crashes have cost the military money and reduced the number of aircraft in their fleet.
Following the April 2022 crash, a statement attributed to Minister of Defence Bashir Magashi stated, “The incident had depleted the human capital assets of the Air Force.”
Except for 2020 and 2023, crashes were reported yearly, according to the PUNCH.
The Air Force was fortunate not to have recorded a crash in February 2023 after one of their jets lost a tyre mid-flight and made an emergency landing on its belly at Lagos Airport.
No fewer than 20 military personnel were killed in the crashes between February 22, 2021 and April 19, 2022.
On February 22, 2021, seven NAF personnel were on their way from Abuja to Minna, Niger State, to rescue the abducted of Government Science College, Kagara, died when their plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport.
Former NAF spokesperson Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet confirmed an aircraft crash and the whereabouts of the two pilots on March 31, 2021.
The most notable of the crashes occurred on May 21, 2021. The crash of a military Beachcraft 350 plane at Kaduna International Airport killed 11 people on board, including the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru.
On July 18, 2021, another Alpha Jet Aircraft was shot down by bandits and crashed in Zamfara. Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo escaped from the crashed plane.
A trainer plane crashed in Kaduna in April 2022, killing both pilots on board.
Other crashes include the August 29, 2015, Air Force plane crash in Kaduna, which killed seven people, four of whom were military personnel.
Another incident occurred on October 10, 2015, when an F-7Nl jet crashed, killing one person. On November 15, 2016, an Augusta Westland 101 helicopter crashed in Makurdi, Benue State.
A NAF Agusta 109 Light Utility Helicopter crashed in Borno River on July 6, 2017. There were no injuries.
On September 28, 2018, two F-7Ni aircraft crashed near Katampe Hills in Abuja. The planes collided during a practise for Nigeria’s 58th independence anniversary celebration. The crash killed one person.
On January 2, 2019, five NAF Mi-35 crew members were killed when the aircraft crashed near Damasak, Borno State.
On June 12, 2019, a NAF helicopter crashed while landing in Katsina State. There were no casualties in the incident. Similarly, on August 17, 2019, a NAF aircraft RV-6A Air Beetle crashed near Kaduna, killing the pilot, an experienced instructor.
A training helicopter was involved in the crash at the NAF base in Enugu. The occurrence occurred on November 14, 2019. The incident claimed no lives.
According to Timothy Avele, a security expert, the crashes during the Buhari administration could be attributed to a lack of maintenance, among other things.
He said, Military air crashes occur in any military in the world even in the USA. However, losing over 30 personnel in over 12 crashes in a span of eight years shows either lack of international maintenance standards or lack of quality and airworthiness policy implementation.
Generally, we have a poor maintenance culture in Nigeria, especially by government agencies.
Another major factor that should be looked into is the issue of the quality of spare parts supplied to maintain these military aircraft.
