NAF searches for flight recorders after Ondo aircraft crash

The Nigerian Air Force says it is searching for the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder of its ATR-42 aircraft that crashed in the Igbokoda area of Ondo State.

Air Vice Marshal Ebimobo Ebiowe, the Air Force’s Superintendent of Standards and Evaluation, described the search to journalists at the crash site on Friday, Premium Times reported.

The flight data recorder, commonly called the black box, and the cockpit voice recorder are among the components investigators hope will help reconstruct the aircraft’s final moments.

Ebiowe said investigators were looking for wreckage components that could help establish the circumstances of the crash. The aircraft came down in a swamp near the Navy’s Forward Operating Base in Igbokoda while travelling from Benin City to Lagos.

The Navy had deployed sonar-scanning equipment to help locate the submerged wreckage. NaijaTrend reported that recovery effort here.

Chief of the Air Staff Sunday Aneke visited the site on Thursday and said a team of military and civilian aviation safety specialists would investigate the incident. He urged the public to avoid speculation about its cause.

Premium Times also reported that Igbokoda traditional ruler Afolabi Odidiomo said the community was discussing alternative ways to retrieve the wreckage if machinery could not complete the task, including a large locally made boat and chains.

Source: Premium Times