Nigerian military aircraft crashes in Ondo State with 32 people on board

Flight disappearance on the Benin to Lagos route

A Nigerian military aircraft carrying 32 individuals crashed in southwestern Nigeria on Monday, 5 October 2026. The flight, bearing military registration NGR 931, departed Benin City on a routine transport mission bound for the economic hub of Lagos. Air traffic personnel lost communication with the aircraft at 09:13 local time after repeated attempts to establish radio contact failed. Reporting on the aircraft type varied across early agency releases, with Deutsche Welle reporting the model as an ATR-42, while initial dispatches from Reuters described the craft as a military helicopter. The aircraft went down within the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State before reaching its destination. Nigerian aviation authorities confirmed that no emergency transmissions or distress calls succeeded prior to the radar disappearance.

Emergency response at the Igbokoda naval base

Rescue personnel located the wreckage of the aircraft near the Nigerian Navy base in Igbokoda shortly after communication ceased. The Nigerian Air Force immediately initiated a search and rescue operation in coordination with naval and civilian emergency responders on the ground. Nigeria's Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, confirmed the crash in public statements released on Monday on social media. Keyamo reported that search units mobilized swiftly to secure the site and locate any survivors among the occupants. The aviation ministry pledged full cooperation and technical assistance to the Nigerian Armed Forces throughout the emergency response. Local emergency teams established an operational perimeter around the naval facility to manage access for search vehicles.

All attempts to establish radio contact with the aircraft proved unsuccessful. Subsequent information confirmed that the military aircraft crashed near the naval base in Igbokoda, Ondo State.

Manifest details and search efforts

Aviation authorities confirmed that 25 passengers and 7 crew members were on board the aircraft at the time of the crash. Emergency workers converged on the naval base perimeter to conduct extraction operations and assess the condition of the fuselage. No official casualty figures were confirmed as of Monday afternoon, and the physical extent of damage to the airframe remained undetermined. Defense authorities focused resources on searching the designated crash zone around Igbokoda to account for all 32 individuals listed on the flight manifest. The routine mission had been scheduled to transport personnel directly between Edo State and Lagos. Search crews continued examining the primary debris field as daylight operations proceeded through the afternoon.

Investigation and inter-agency coordination

The Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development established contact with defense leadership to support the accident response and review operational data. Festus Keyamo described the crash as an unfortunate incident and stated that further verified details would be released once rescue units completed their initial assessments. Nigerian Air Force specialists began reviewing communication logs and flight parameters recorded prior to the 09:13 loss of contact. Local security personnel secured the area surrounding the naval base in Igbokoda to facilitate rescue vehicles and specialized aviation recovery equipment. Military leadership confirmed that search operations would remain active until every passenger and crew member from the flight manifest was accounted for.