Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has praised the pilot of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) ATR-42 aircraft that crashed in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area, saying his final manoeuvre may have saved the coastal community from a larger disaster.
Aiyedatiwa spoke on Wednesday, October 7, after visiting crash site with personnel of Navy, Air Force, divers, NEMA, SEMA and locals involved in recovery since Monday.
According to the governor, eyewitness accounts indicated that the aircraft developed technical problems before crashing, while the pilot managed to steer the failing aircraft towards a swampy area about 200 metres from the town centre.
He said the pilot’s action helped prevent what could have resulted in significant casualties among residents.
“Unfortunately, there is no single survivor in that aircraft as we speak today,” he said.
“From engagement with the people, they said they could see the aircraft coming down with sound of bad engine… but pilot was able to manoeuvre and landed just 200 metres away from community. It went straight into ditch, a swampy area so soft that it looked like aircraft had been submerged into mud,” he said.
He said recovery operations continue to retrieve victims and determine cause of crash.
