Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has said a possible technical or mechanical fault may have caused the Nigerian Air Force aircraft crash in Igbokoda, ruling out bad weather as a likely factor.
Aiyedatiwa spoke on Monday night during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, hours after the ATR-42 aircraft crashed in a swampy area near the Naval Base in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area.
The aircraft, with tail number NGR 931, was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when air traffic controllers lost radio contact with it at about 9:13 a.m. The wreckage was later located near the Naval Base.
According to Aiyedatiwa, the aircraft may have developed a fault while airborne, resulting in the loss of communication with the control tower.
He said the incident was unlikely to have been caused by bad weather, arguing that severe weather conditions would probably have prevented the aircraft from taking off.
However, the governor stressed that the exact cause had yet to be established.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had earlier said 25 passengers and seven crew members were aboard the aircraft.
The Nigerian Air Force confirmed that the aircraft was on a routine mission and said it had activated search-and-rescue operations following the crash.
The Presidency has since confirmed that all 32 people on board died in the accident. President Bola Tinubu has ordered an investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
