A Nigerian Air Force pilot made a precautionary landing on a farmland in Benue State after completing a combat mission against suspected kidnappers.<\/p>\n
The helicopter had provided close air support to ground troops during an operation in Ogbadigbo Local Government Area, near the Benue-Enugu boundary, before the pilot decided to land about 10 nautical miles from the airfield while returning to base.<\/p>\n
Residents said the aircraft came down on farmland in Utur Tse-Igboji community in Makurdi.<\/p>\n
NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, confirmed the incident in a statement, saying the decision was taken as a safety precaution following the operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cFollowing the successful completion of the mission, the pilot, on return to base, exercised his professional discretion to execute a precautionary landing approximately 10 nautical miles from the airfield,\u201d Ejodame said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is in accordance with established operational and safety procedures following combat missions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Air Force said the helicopter later returned safely to base.<\/p>\n
According to NAF, the operation targeted suspected kidnappers in Ogbadigbo and helped disrupt their activities while supporting the advance of troops on the ground.<\/p>\n
The unusual landing comes just days after the Nigerian Air Force suffered a deadly aircraft crash in Igbokoda, Ondo State.<\/p>\n
The ATR-42 aircraft, with tail number NGR 931, crashed into a swamp opposite a naval base on Monday.<\/p>\n
No survivors were found following the crash.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, described the Ondo tragedy as a deeply painful moment for the Air Force and the country.<\/p>\n
President Bola Tinubu subsequently declared three days of national mourning for the victims and ordered an investigation into the accident.<\/p>\n
NAF, however, stressed that Wednesday\u2019s Benue incident was a precautionary landing and that the helicopter returned to base.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Nigerian Air Force pilot made a precautionary landing on a farmland in Benue State after completing a combat mission against suspected kidnappers. The helicopter had provided close air support to ground troops during an operation in Ogbadigbo Local Government Area, near the Benue-Enugu boundary, before the pilot decided to land about 10 nautical miles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[36,322],"class_list":["post-9306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-benue","tag-naf-pilot"],"yoast_head":"\n