By 
Abiodun OBA
The Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria,is poised to probe the Nigerian Air Force Beechcraft 350 jet which crashed on Friday near the Kaduna International Airport.
To this end, AIB on Saturday, said it has recovered the black box of the ill fated craft and its investigators will download and analyse vital information contained in the recorders to ascertain the cause of the crash that claimed the lives of 11 military personnel including the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Ibrahim Attahiru.
In a statement titled, AIB-N To Conduct Kaduna Crash Investigation’ signed by AIB-N General Manager, Public Affairs, Tunji Oketunbi said although the AIB-N, according to its mandate, only probes civil aviation accidents and incidents in Nigeria and not military accidents and incidents,the Nigerian Air Force mandated AIB-N to lead the investigation into the crash.
“The Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) from the accidented aircraft have been recovered and investigation has commenced.
“Investigators will download and analyse vital information contained in the recorders at the AIB-N’s world class Flight Safety Laboratory, in Abuja.
“The mandate given to AIB-N is based on the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two agencies on July 1, 2020 covering areas of mutual assistance,” the statement partly read.
Recall that the Defence Headquarters on Friday attributed the crash of the NAF jet to bad.
In a statement titled, ‘Armed Forces Of Nigeria Loses Chief Of Army Staff And Ten Others In Air Mishap’ signed by DHQ Acting Director Defence Information, Brigadier General, Onyema Nwachukwu, the DHQ said the sacrifices of departed heroes will not be in vain.
The statement also revealed, that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, directed that an Accident Investigation Board be constituted to further probe the accident.
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had on January 26, 2021 appointed Attahiru to succeed Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai as COAS.
At least 20 military officers have lost their lives in the last three months in three crashes involving Nigerian Air Force jets
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