Crashed NAF Plane’s Flight Data Recorder Still Missing… Navy Deploys Equipment To  Recover Wreckage

By Ayodele Oni

The search for the black box and cockpit voice recorder of the Nigeria Airforce, (NAF) crashed ATR-42 aircraft in Igbokoda, Ondo State, is ongoing, as efforts to recover the submerged wreckage continue.

The NAF Superintendent of Standards and Evaluation, Air Vice Marshal Ebimobo Ebiowe, disclosed this on Friday at the crash site in Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area of the state.

Ebiowe explained that the recovery team was searching for critical components of the aircraft that could assist investigators in determining the circumstances surrounding the crash, which claimed 25 lives.

The aircraft, which was on a routine mission from Benin City, Edo State, to Lagos, crashed into a swamp near the Nigerian Navy’s Forward Operating Base in Igbokoda on Monday.

The accident claimed the lives of 20 passengers and five crew members, while the aircraft became submerged in the swampy terrain, making recovery operations difficult.

Speaking on the search for the aircraft’s recording devices, Ebiowe explained that the flight data recorder (FDR), commonly known as the black box, and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) were among the critical components investigators hoped to recover.

He pointed out that the devices could provide important evidence to help investigators reconstruct the aircraft’s final moments and establish what happened before the crash.

“We hope to be able to find critical components of the aircraft that will speak to the investigators because the aircraft wreckage actually speaks to the investigators.

“One of them is what the ordinary man (civilian) calls the black box. We call it the flight data recorder (FDR), and another component close to it, the cockpit voice recorder (CVR),” he said.

The flight data recorder captures information about an aircraft’s performance and flight parameters, while the cockpit voice recorder preserves cockpit conversations, alarms and other sounds that could help investigators understand the events preceding an accident.

Aviation expert, Mr Olugbenga Afolabi said recovering and analysing the devices could provide valuable clues to the cause of the crash.

He, however, noted that the information obtained from the recorders would need to be assessed alongside physical evidence from the wreckage, maintenance records and other findings from the crash site.

The search for the recording devices is taking place alongside efforts by the Nigerian Navy to locate and recover the submerged aircraft.

The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, had directed the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Department to deploy specialised sonar-scanning equipment and personnel to the crash site to map the underwater terrain and establish the precise location of the wreckage.

The deployment became necessary because of the swamp’s high turbidity, which has severely limited underwater visibility and complicated the work of divers.

The Commanding Officer of the Officers’ Mess at the Forward Operating Base, Igbokoda, Navy Captain Andy Alemongwa, said the sonar survey would provide an underwater picture of the crash site to guide divers and technical teams.

He added that Nigerian Navy divers and NAF drone pilots were also supporting the operation through searches across surrounding mangrove and forested areas.

The Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Abubakar Abdullahi Mustapha, and the Air Officer Commanding, Logistics Command, NAF, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar Abdul Suleh, were among senior officers who inspected the crash site.