19 aircraft mishaps in 11 years: How Nigerian military became synonymous with fatal air crashes

The Nigerian military aviation has been beset by tragedy and misfortune in the last decade, with at least 21 air crashes involving aircraft and helicopters of the military recorded since 2015. The frequency of these fatal air mishaps has become exceedingly troubling and points to something dark and ominous that raises serious concerns about the technical efficiency and capabilities of the Nigerian Air Force.

In the wake of Monday’s air crash involving Nigerian military surveillance and maritime operations aircraft (tail number NGR 931) carrying an estimated 32 people (25 passengers and 7 crew) en route from Lagos to Benin. It crashed in Igbokoda, Ilaje. The Federal Government and the Nigerian military must now rise to the occasion and find the last solution to these incessant crashes that are gradually becoming the defining feature of the Nigerian military.

In other parts of the world, military aircraft are considered the safest and crashes are a rarity, but the opposite is the case in Nigeria. It is disgraceful and demoralising for the nation to keep losing well-trained, high-ranking officers and crucial military hardware to these avoidable crashes. The issue has also become existential for the military and the nation as a whole. While the country’s civilian aviation sector has been able to create a safe, smooth and reliable flying experience with zero mishaps involving commercial jetliners in the country recorded in the last 14 years, the military, on the other hand, has become synonymous with catastrophic air accidents that happen almost on a yearly basis.

In 2021, a chief of army staff was killed in one of those crashes; that is how bad the situation is. The nation cannot continue to lose senior military personnel to these senseless air accidents, and that is why it has become highly imperative for relevant and concerned agencies to get to the bottom of the matter and find what the problem really is. Is it poor and shoddy maintenance, the age of the aircraft or human factors?

The Ondo aircraft crash makes it the 19th air mishap involving Nigerian military aircraft since 2015. Within Nigeria has compiled a list of 20 other air disasters.

Timeline of crashes

All seven passengers on board were killed when the Dornier 228, NAF030, crashed into Ribadu Cantonment (Old NDA) in Kaduna State on Saturday, August 29, 2015.

On October 10, 2015, one person lost his life when an F-7NI fighter jet crashed during training in Kaduna. AgustaWestland 101 helicopter given to the Nigerian Air Force by the Presidency suffered a “mishap” while taxing on a tarmac in Makurdi, Benue State, on November 15, 2016.

An Agusta 109 light utility helicopter ditched after a technical fault in Borno State on July 6, 2017. No one died. Months later, on September 28, 2018, two F-7NI fighter jets collided during Independence Day rehearsal in Abuja, killing one person.

An Mi-35M attack helicopter crashed during a combat support operation in Damasak, Borno, on January 2 2019, killing five persons – Flight Lieutenant Perowei Jacob, Flight Lieutenant Kaltho Paul Kilyof, Sergeant Auwal Ibrahim, Lance Corporal Adamu Nura and Meshack Ishmael — on board.

On June 12, 2019, a NAF helicopter crash-landed in Katsina while returning from an anti-banditry combat mission in the Northwest Theatre under Operation HADARAN DAJI. No lives were lost in the incident. Two months later, on August 17, 2019, an RV-6A Air Beetle trainer aircraft crashed in Kaduna, killing one person. The following month, on November 14, 2019, a NAF training helicopter crashed in Enugu, but nobody died.

On February 21, 2021, a Beechcraft King Air 350i crashed after engine failure in Abuja, killing seven people. The following month, on March 31, an Alpha Jet lost radar contact during a combat operation in Borno. Two crew members died in the crash. Less than two months later, on May 21, 2021, a Beechcraft King Air 350 with registration number NAF 203 crashed near Kaduna Airport, killing 11 people, including the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru.

On July 18, 2021, an Alpha Jet was shot down during a counter-insurgency operation in Zamfara. However, the pilot ejected and survived. Nine months later, on April 19, 2022, a Super Mushshak trainer aircraft crashed in Kaduna, killing two crew members: Flt. Abubakar Muhammed Alkali and Flt. Elijah Haruna Karatu. On July 14, 2023, an FT-7NI trainer aircraft crashed during training in Makurdi, Benue. Two pilots successfully ejected.

On August 14, 2023, an MI-171E helicopter crashed during a casualty evacuation mission in Niger State. Eleven persons, including two pilots and two crew members, were killed. On December 1, 2023, an MI-35P attack helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff in Port Harcourt, but all five crew survived.

Three months later, on March 7, 2024, a NAF Super Mushshak trainer crashed in Zaria, Kaduna State. No deaths were recorded during the incident, as the pilots survived the crash.

On December 6, 2025, a NAF Alpha Jet was in an in-flight emergency during a post-inspection test flight near Karabonde, Borgu LGA, close to NAF Base Kainji. Two pilots were injured and subsequently ejected for treatment.

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