Preliminary report on ex-COAS crash ready next week

The Accident Investigation Bureau, on Thursday, said the preliminary report on the crash of a military aircraft in which the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru, and 10 others died in Kaduna in May this year would be ready by next week.

The Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer, AIB, Akin Olateru, disclosed this during the release of eight flight accident reports by the bureau at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

He, however, insisted that it was up to the Nigerian Air Force to decide on whether it would make public the findings contained in the report, stressing that it was outside the mandate of the AIB to disclose such information.

After the crash, the AIB was asked by the NAF to lead the investigation.

Responding to a question on why the AIB had yet to release the report on the crash on Thursday, Olateru said, “Accident investigation takes time; an average of 18 months. The one you are talking about, recall that it’s a NAF aircraft, but the crash unfortunately happened at the civil airport.

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“So, graciously, the NAF felt we could be of assistance and then it commissioned us to assist in the investigation, which is ongoing, and whether the NAF makes the report public or not is not our call.

“This is because it is not under the purview of the AIB. But within the next one week, the preliminary report will be ready.”