A senior Air Traffic Controller familiar with the military aircraft crash in Ondo State has described the loss of radar contact and communication shortly after take-off as suspicious. The aircraft, with tail number NGR 931, was travelling from Benin City to Lagos when air traffic controllers reportedly lost contact with it at about 9:13am before it crashed into a swamp in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area.
Speaking to Punch, the unidentified controller said communication was established with the aircraft shortly after take-off but was later lost, with repeated efforts to reconnect proving unsuccessful. Personnel at a nearby reporting point in Okitipupa reportedly heard a loud bang believed to have been the sound of the crash, while the controller said the circumstances would become clearer as search-and-rescue and recovery operations continued.
A resident identified as Sola said the crash occurred while it was drizzling and that residents heard a loud sound from the swampy area but could not immediately reach the site. Witnesses said police, military personnel and local fishermen were involved in the rescue effort, although the difficult terrain reportedly made access to the wreckage challenging.
