Ondo plane crash: Pilot averted bigger disaster, says monarch

The monarch of Igbokoda, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, praised the pilot of a Nigerian Air Force aircraft that crashed in his community, stating the crash might have caused greater devastation if it had landed within the town. The ATR-42 aircraft, with registration NAF 931, crashed in Igbokoda, Ondo State, on October 5 while on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos, killing all 25 people on board.

The NAF confirmed there were no survivors, and search and rescue operations began after air traffic lost contact with the aircraft around 9:13am. President Bola Tinubu declared three days of national mourning and ordered an investigation into the crash. Odidiomo expressed the community's relief and gratitude to the pilot for sacrificing his life to save others.

Despite the loss, the community mourned the incident, emphasizing the rarity of such an occurrence in their territory. The monarch mentioned that residents quickly mobilized to the crash site, hoping to rescue any survivors, but found only remnants of the aircraft. The difficult terrain and lack of navigable access made recovery efforts challenging, but the community remains determined to recover what remains of the aircraft using innovative methods.