The key facts

  • The cockpit voice recorder was found intact, and part of the flight data recorder has also been recovered
  • The October 5 ATR-42 crash killed 20 passengers and 5 crew members
  • The cause of the crash has not yet been named, and the recorder data has not been decoded

Recorder found a month after the crash

The Nigerian Air Force said on Fridaythat its technical teams and the safety investigation bureau had confirmed the cockpit voice recorder of the military aircraft that crashed in the country's southwest was intact. Part of the flight data recorder — the so-called black box — has also been recovered, but search teams continue looking for its remaining part.

Circumstances of the crash

The ATR-42 crashed on October 5 in Igbo-Oloda — a river town in Ondo State — during a routine flight from Benin City to Lagos. There were 20 passengers and five crew members on board; there were no survivors, the Air Force said. Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, the Air Force director of public relations, noted that rescue operations continue in difficult, swampy terrain: additional wreckage, engine parts and the remains of the victims are being recovered there. Access to submerged fragments required hydrographic surveys, satellite imagery, water pumping and excavation work.

What is known and what remains unknown

The Air Force has not disclosed whether the data from the recovered recorder has been extracted and analyzed, and the cause of the crash has not yet been announced. The disaster has prompted calls to strengthen oversight of safety standards in Nigeria's military aviation: the House of Representatives earlier demanded an independent investigation and a comprehensive audit of Air Force aircraft and their maintenance systems, citing concerns over operational safety, spare parts and funding.