Nigerian Airforce Says Missing Jet Might Have Crashed

The Nigerian Air Force has released a statement saying its Alpha Jet that went missing on Wednesday March 31, during an operation in the Northern part of the country may have crashed.

In a statement released on Friday by the Director of Public Relations and Information at the Nigerian Air Force, Edward Gabkwet, he stated thatr the location of the alpha jet remains unknown while also stating the names of the pilots asFlight Lieutenant John Abolarinwa and Flight Lieutenant Ebiakpo Chapele.

 ”Intelligence report gathered by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) indicates that the Alpha Jet aircraft (NAF475) that went off the radar with 2 crew members on board on 31 March 2021 might have crashed”.

“The cause of the crash as well as the whereabouts of the 2 pilots remain unknown. The pilots are Flight Lieutenant John Abolarinwa and Flight Lieutenant Ebiakpo Chapele”.

“Extensive search and rescue efforts are still ongoing by NAF surveillance aircraft as well as NAF Special Forces and Nigerian Army troops on ground.

At this point, the NAF is not ruling out anything regarding the incident. It however remains hopeful that the crew would soon be found and rescued.” the statement read

The Nigerian Alpha Jet went missing while on interdiction mission in support of ground troops in the fight against insurgency and lost contact with the radar in Borno state, in the North-east region of Nigeria.