The Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has confirmed the recovery of the data card from the training aircraft that crash-landed at the General Tunde Idiagbon International Airport, Ilorin, Kwara State.
NSIB Director General, Captain Alex Badeh Jr., disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Ilorin, noting that efforts are in top gear to determine the cause of the incident.
The aircraft, a Diamond training plane with registration number BNI and operated by the Ilorin International Aviation College (IAC), crash-landed on Friday during a simulated instrument approach on Runway 05 at about 5:28 pm local time.
The mishap involved the college’s Head of Training, simply identified as Ajape, and a female student, Lola. Both were rushed to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), where they are currently receiving treatment. One sustained serious injuries, while the other suffered minor wounds.
According to Capt. Badeh, the aircraft veered off the runway and came to rest on a grass verge. The damaged aircraft was the last serviceable unit in the school’s two-plane fleet and has now been declared beyond repair.
“Our team is on-site and recovery operations are almost concluded. We have successfully retrieved the data card, and analysis is already underway at our transport safety lab in Abuja,” he said.
He assured the public that a preliminary report would be issued within 30 days, with a full report to follow after in-depth analysis and safety recommendations.
“As investigators, our job is to determine what happened, why it happened, and how to prevent it from happening again,” Badeh said.
He also emphasized that four NSIB investigators remain on-site to carry out technical measurements before wrapping up on-scene activities.
The DG reassured Nigerians of the safety of the country’s airspace, describing the crash as an unfortunate incident during routine training. “Such occurrences, while regrettable, are not unusual in aviation training settings,” he added.
Badeh confirmed that both pilots are conscious, coherent, and responding well to medical care, with one already undergoing an MRI scan.
“The situation is under control, and there is no cause for alarm,” he concluded.
