BAKKACIMA BLOG

  Military sources said  Lt General Ibrahim Attahiru   was on a trip to Kaduna when he died in an air crash with some of his aides. Efforts were on to locate the wreckage of the plane and evacuate the remains of the victims. His mission to Kaduna was said to be “official.” The Nigerian Air Force, in a statement by its Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet confirmed the crash. The statement said: “An air crash involving a @NigAirForce aircraft occurred this evening near the Kaduna International Airport. ” The cause of the crash is still being ascertained. More details soon.”

The aircraft, based in the UK, plunged into the North Sea off the Yorkshire coast while on a training mission at about 9.40am on Monday. The pilot and plane were part of the 48th Fighter Wing stationed at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, home to the largest US air force base in England. The name of the pilot would not be released until his family had been informed, RAF Lakenheath said. “This is a tragic loss for the 48th Fighter Wing community, and our deepest condolences go out to the pilot’s family and the 493rd Fighter Squadron,” a spokesman said. The F-15C is a single-seater version of a long-established Boeing twin-engine fighter, which has been used by the US air force since 1979. According to the coastguard, it had received reports of a plane going down into the sea 74 nautical miles off Flamborough Head on the Yorkshire coast. A coastguard helicopter was sent along with Bridlington and Scarborough RNLI lifeboats.p The 48th Fighter Wing, which has operated from Lakenheath since 1960,

A Bolivian  military plane crashed on Saturday, killing two crew members and four Spaniards. The Spaniards were en route to catch a flight back to Spain, the Bolivian Defense Ministry said in a statement, identifying them as Francisco José Gallegos Gonzáles, Yandira Olivera Velarde, Delis Salvatierra Velarde and Alba Aparicio Formas.      The plane went down in a marshy area on the outskirts of the northeastern city of Trinidad, the statement said, adding that the investigation to the cause of the accident was underway.     The aircraft was also carrying coronavirus test samples to the city of Santa Cruz.   Initial findings showed that the plane reported that it planned to return to the airport in Trinidad 12 minutes after take-off due to engine failure. Contact with the aircraft was then lost.