Fallen Heroes | TheNation

They died on active duty to fatherland. The seven-man crew, that perished aboard the Beechcraft KingAir B350i belonging to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), were on an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission to Niger State.

They were part of a joint task force set up to rescue the students, and other staff, kidnapped from Government Science College, Kagara, Niger State. But on way back from mission, they crashed in Bassa community, close to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja, after their plane’s two engines packed up.

According to the NAF authorities, the crew members had successfully carried out such missions in the North-East, North-West and North-Central regions in the past. The fallen heroes were Flight Lieutenant Haruna Gadzama (Captain), Flight Lieutenant Henry Piyo (Co-pilot), Flying Officer Michael Okpara (Airborne Tactical Observation System, ATOS, Specialist), Warrant Officer Bassey Etim (ATOS specialist), Flight Seargent Olasunkanmi Olawunmi (ATOS specialist), Seargent Ugochukwu Oluka (ATOS specialist) and Aircraftman Adewale Johnson (Onboard Technician).

There has been, in the media, an outpouring of grief by family, friends, course mates and colleagues of the deceased, with many extolling their virtues.

These emotions reached a crescendo when the deceased officers were given a befitting burial with full military honours in Abuja on February 25. Rather than giving in to despondency, an understandably emotional Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Vice Marshal Oladayo Amao, rallied his officers and men saying: “The loss of these confident, courageous and professional young officers must spur the rest of us not only to rededicate ourselves to the service of our nation, but also to resolve that we shall relentlessly expose and fight all agents of destabilization and extremism in our society”.

Incidents like this remind us of the sacredness and nobility of the martial profession, where men and women are sworn to defend their fatherland, even at the cost of their lives. We thus hope that those political and religious leaders in particular, who have a penchant for extremist words and actions that compound national security problems, will always remember that there are people who put their precious lives on the line, to ensure the security of their fellow citizens.

The Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magaji, rightly described the death of these officers as “an unfortunate depletion of the national human asset”. Considerable resources went into training the deceased officers.

This is why we welcome the speedy investigation into the cause of the accident, which the CAS has ordered. We urge that this should be carried out meticulously and diligently. No possible factor should be considered too trivial to look into, as everything humanly possible should be done to prevent a future recurrence.

The authorities should reappraise measures put in place to ensure due diligence for military aircraft, with a view to strengthening them where necessary. This should include assessing the age and operational fitness of the existing fleet; and the need to ease out those of doubtful durability, as well as restocking and renewing the fleet. The authorities also need to look into, and upgrade, processes for routine maintenance of the entire fleet.

But even as the outcome of the investigations is being awaited, a number of experts have raised questions as to how the aircraft’s two engines could pack up at once, saying that was most unusual. According to them, an aircraft fitted with two engines should normally be able to glide to safety, even with one engine, if the other fails.

They thus suggested that investigators must probe the quality of aviation fuel supplied to military aircraft, as sub-par fuel could explain the engine failure. We back this suggestion and urge that no suggestion should be discounted, in a bid to get to the root cause of the accident; and enhance the safety, both of machines and personnel, in future.

Of course, it is not possible to rule out human error, in incidents like this. So, we hope that the requisite gadgets on the plane, to record the conversations of the crew members, will be retrieved. That way, necessary information, to provide useful lessons, can be accessed.

Eyewitnesses in the Bassa community noted what they perceived as a gallant effort by the pilot to ensure that the aircraft did not crash in a crowded residential area. This act of gallantry, even in the face of death, certainly helped to avert loss of lives in the community.

If this is confirmed, a posthumous honour to appreciate such bravery, is not out of place. That surely would sweeten the memories of the fallen, among the grieving family, friends and loved ones they left behind. We pray that the souls of the fallen heroes rest in peace.

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