The fate of the ill-fated NAF ATR-42 ISR Aircraft — by Kelechi Deca

Reading through the manifest of the diseased passengers and crew of the ill-fated Nigeria Air Force ATR-42 aircraft tells the story of how many families, friends and relations that are presently mourning.

Every state may get at least one person.

Learning about the death of the officer who had his wedding just two weeks ago added to the pains of this tragedy. This is not a fate anyone should wish even his enemy.

I have read a lot of conjectures on whether the aircraft was in good condition and rumours by the side of those murmuring about the aircraft having issues recently.

I won’t take any of those seriously until the investigations are concluded and reports made public. I hope the vital aspects of the equipment that would aid in the investigations were recovered.

My concern is that some surveillance aircraft operate independent of ATCs. And they are hardly captured on the radar due to transponder maneuvers thus communication with ATCs are minimal. I hope the Black Box provides all the answers.

The Nigerian Air Force flies two ATR 42-500M aircraft capable of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance operations. They’re mainly reconfigured equipment for that purpose.

They also perform limited transport duties. They are operated by the 81 Air Maritime Group in Benin, in Edo state but they are routinely deployed with the 75 Strike Group (75 STG) in Yola as part of the air component of Operation Lafya Dole Air Task Force (ATF).

One is NAF 930 while the second one is registered as NAF 931.

This ill-fated aircraft (ATR 42-500MP Maritime Patrol Aircraft) with registration number NAF 931) was sent to Rheinland Air Service (RAS) facility in Monchengladbach, Germany in 2022.

It was the second ATR 42-500MP surveillance aircraft sent to Germany for Periodic Depot Maintenance in order to keep the fleet in top shape.

This followed the successful Periodic Depot Maintenance (PDM) of its sister aircraft NAF 930 in September 2019, at the Rheinland Air Services (RAS) Facilities, Monchengladbach, Germany after clocking 5,000 hours (or 10 years) of operation. The aircraft returned in July 2020.

After the maintenance program for the first ATR 42 (NAF 930), the aircraft was slightly delayed in Germany due to the Covid-19 restrictions, just as the NAF needed to increase its maritime surveillance operations as well as counterinsurgency sorties in the fight against Boko Haram and the Islamic State.

However, unlike the NAF 930, the NAF 931 had a very prolonged scheduled maintenance which stretched from January 2022 till December 2024.

I do not know the reason for that, but the aircraft arrived in Nigeria late December 2024. NAF engineers and technicians participated in the reactivation process in Germany.

I do not think that an aircraft that went through a PDM and returned in 2024 would be in a bad state in less than two years.

That’s my opinion as an amateur aviation enthusiast. I may not have the details.

It could be recalled that Leonardo, formerly known as Alenia Aeronautica delivered the first of two aircraft in December 2009 under a $73 million deal which included crew training and logistics. The contract was signed in 2007 under President Yar Adua’s administration.

Over the last 10 years, the NAF, in collaboration with its technical partners, has successfully reactivated some of its platforms in-country, including the conduct of Periodic Depot Maintenance (PDM) on 2 C-130H aircraft, the PDM/Avionics and upgrade of three Alpha Jets, an overhaul and upgrade of six L-39ZA Albatross aircraft.

May God grant fortitude to the families and friends of the victims of the crash.