Updated on October 7, 2026.
All 25 people aboard the Nigerian Air Force ATR 42 that crashed near Igbokoda in Ondo State on October 5 have died. The Air Force corrected the initial manifest figures: the aircraft was carrying 20 passengers and five crew members, not 32 people as first reported. President Bola Tinubu has ordered a thorough investigation into the accident.
The revised toll matters because early official information put 32 people on board, including 25 passengers and seven crew. The Nigerian Air Force later confirmed that the actual total was 25, with no survivors. Reuters and Associated Press reported the correction following the updated military statement.
Contact lost on the flight to Lagos
The ATR 42 was flying from Benin City to Lagos on what the Nigerian Air Force described as a routine mission when communication with the aircraft was lost. Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo said controllers lost contact at about 9:13 a.m. local time and radio attempts to reach the crew were unsuccessful.
The wreckage was later located near Igbokoda in Ondo State, close to a naval base. Search-and-rescue teams were deployed, but the Air Force subsequently confirmed that none of the 20 passengers and five crew members survived.
The aircraft involved was an ATR 42 operated by the Nigerian Air Force. The turboprop can serve in transport, surveillance and intelligence roles depending on configuration.
Military investigation, with civilian technical support available
President Tinubu directed the Air Force to launch an immediate and thorough investigation. No official cause has been established at this stage.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Nigeria’s civil transport safety body, has said that a military aircraft accident falls under the Nigerian Air Force. It has nevertheless offered technical assistance if formally requested.
That support could include investigators and use of the NSIB Flight Safety Laboratory to recover and analyse flight-recorder data if the recorders are retrieved in usable condition.
Three days of national mourning
Following confirmation of the 25 fatalities, President Tinubu declared three days of national mourning and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast.
The exact sequence before impact, the reason for the loss of contact and any technical, operational or environmental factors remain unresolved pending the military investigation.
Sources
Nigerian Air Force; Nigerian Presidency; Reuters, October 5–7, 2026; Associated Press, October 5–6, 2026; Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau.
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