Pilot injured as air force jet crashes in Kaduna

A pilot sustained injuries after a jet belonging to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) was involved in a mishap in Kaduna state on Monday.

Olatokunbo Adesanya, spokesman of the force, who confirmed this, explained that a student pilot forced-landed the aircraft – a Diamond 40 trainer – on the outskirts of Kaduna while on a solo mission as part of flying training at the 401 Flying Training School, Kaduna.

Diamond 40 is a one-person seater training aircraft used for the training of air force personnel.

“The incident, which took place today, March 19, 2018, was as a result of an airborne emergency that could not enable the pilot fly the aircraft back to the base,” he said in a statement.

“He, therefore, force-landed the aircraft but with minimal damage to it. However, the student pilot, who was the only one on board, suffered minor injuries and is already receiving treatment at the 461 Nigerian Air Force Hospital, Kaduna.

“The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has immediately directed the constitution of a board of inquiry to determine the exact cause of the incident while efforts are ongoing to recover the aircraft.”