Air force ‘has an idea’ of missing jet’s location

The Nigerian air force has a clue to the whereabouts of its Alpha Jet (NAF 466) that went missing on Friday, chief of air staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, said on Monday.

“We have an idea of where the missing NAF Alpha Jet could be,” he told state house correspondents.

“I am hopeful that before the end of the day or week, we should be able to provide credible information as to the location of the aircraft and then the pilots.”

Amosu, who expressed optimism that the pilots would be found alive, also dismissed any thoughts of sabotage.

“Sabotage? No, because it is a distance of just Maiduguri and Yola,” he said.

“We are in full control of the air space. But don’t forget that when we lose radio signal, it becomes very challenging. There are so many possibilities but we are working on it.”

On Sunday, director of defence information, Major-General Chris Olukolade, announced the disappearance of the plane, which was on operational mission in Adamawa.

“The aircraft, with two pilots on board, left Yola at about 10:45am on 12 September 2014 on a routine operational mission and was expected back by 12:00 noon,” he said.

“Since then all efforts to establish contact with the aircraft have not yielded any positive result.”