BY Samad Uthman
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says its MI-35P helicopter crash-landed in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, on Friday morning.
In a statement, Edward Gabkwet, NAF spokesperson, said the accident occurred around “7:45 am shortly after the aircraft took off for an operation against economic saboteurs in Rivers state”.
Gabkwet said all five crew members on the flight survived the crash with minor injuries.
The NAF spokesperson added that they have been moved to the force’s medical centre in the state’s capital city.
“Fortunately, the entire crew of 5 survived the crash with very minor injuries and are currently being attended to at NAF Medical Centre Port Harcourt,” Gabkwet said.
He added that Hassan Abubakar, chief of air staff, is on his way to the state to “access the situation for himself” and “to see to the wellbeing of the crew”.
“This incident of this nature is yet again a grim reminder of the dangers associated with military flying and the risks NAF pilots and technicians experience in their onerous tasks of defending our nation and deterring criminal elements from their nefarious activities,” he added.
On August 14, NAF’s MI-171 helicopter, which was on a casualty evacuation mission, crashed in Niger state.
The aircraft had departed Zungeru Primary School enroute to Kaduna but was later discovered to have crashed near Chukuba village.
Three months earlier, a trainer NAF aircraft crashed in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.
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