Nigerian Air Force ATR 42 Crashes in Ondo State, All 25 on Board Lost

A Nigerian Air Force (NAF) ATR 42 crashed near Igbokoda in Ondo State on Monday 5 October 2026, killing all 25 people on board. The service has confirmed there were no survivors. It is the deadliest aviation accident in Nigeria since the Dana Air Flight 0992 crash in June 2012.

What the Air Force has confirmed

The aircraft was flying a domestic route from Benin Airport in Edo State to Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. According to the NAF, it carried five crew and 20 passengers. Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, the service’s Director of Public Relations and Information, confirmed the casualty figures.

The crew was named as Squadron Leader M. I. Aburime, the aircraft captain, with Squadron Leader A. P. Man-Ugwueje and Flight Lieutenant I. S. Bako as co-pilots, plus two aircraft technicians. The passengers included serving Air Force personnel and civilians. Reference sources describe 19 of the passengers as military personnel.

The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, expressed sympathy and ordered a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of the crash. The NAF asked the public to avoid speculation while the work continues, and opened a condolence register at Air Force Headquarters in Abuja. President Bola Tinubu expressed condolences to the families and declared three days of national mourning.

The aircraft and the flight

The aircraft was an ATR 42-500 in the 512MP Surveyor configuration, registered NAF931. The type is a twin-turboprop regional aircraft; the Surveyor version is configured for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and maritime patrol. Published records show the airframe was procured in March 2010 from Alenia Aeronautica and was about 18 years old at the time of the accident. It had undergone major maintenance in Germany in 2022 at Rheinland Air Service.

Air traffic controllers lost radar contact with the aircraft at 09:13 local time. Local reports describe residents hearing a loud explosion and seeing the aircraft descend before it struck trees and entered water in the swampy area near a naval base. The aircraft was destroyed on impact and the wreckage later sank.

Search and recovery

The terrain around the crash site has complicated recovery. Teams had to reach the area by canoe, and an amphibious excavator was brought in on 6 October to assist. The NAF activated search-and-rescue operations after contact was lost and has since published the names of the victims.

What is not yet known

No cause has been stated by the NAF or any other authority, and none should be inferred at this stage. The service has ordered its own inquiry. Nigeria’s civil investigation body has not, in the sources reviewed, announced a role in the investigation, and no flight recorder findings have been reported. Further details are expected to come from the NAF and the investigating team.

The ATR 42 is widely used by commercial and military operators worldwide, and the Surveyor variant is used by a small number of air forces for patrol and surveillance work. Nigeria’s air force has used its ATR 42 aircraft for maritime and counter-insurgency surveillance missions, according to published records.

Khaleej Aviation will update this report as the NAF or investigators release further information.