Since the first military plane crash, involving a World War II military cargo plane carrying arms, ammunition, and explosives, was recorded in Nigeria in 1942 at Igbo Ilapa Hill in Ikogosi, Ekiti state, the country’s landscape has been littered with wreckage of crashed aircraft.

This report reviews major military aircraft crashes in Nigeria, their timelines, and the number of casualties, from the first crash in 1942 to the military aircraft crash in Igbokoda, Ondo, in 2026.

Dornier Do-28B-1 hard landing, 1970

On January 12, 1970, the day that ended the 30-month Nigerian civil war, a Nigerian Air Force Dornier Do-28B-1 aircraft (registration number NAF-172) had a hard landing that damaged it beyond repair. 

Forcados Fokker F27 Crash, 1990

On May 26, 1990, a Nigerian Air Force Fokker F27 aircraft (registration number NAF904), flying from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, to São Tomé, crashed into the Gulf of Guinea near Delta state, killing all 30 people on board. The crash was attributed to bad weather, as the aircraft encountered severe weather.

Ejigbo C-130 Crash, Lagos, 1992

On September 26, 1992, all 159 passengers on board a Nigerian Air Force Lockheed C-130H Hercules died after the plane suffered multiple engine failures, crashing into a swamp in Ejigbo, Lagos, barely three minutes after take-off. The 159 people killed included 151 Nigerians, mostly army majors who had just returned from the ECOMOG peacekeeping operations in Liberia, five Ghanaians, one Tanzanian, one Zimbabwean, and one Ugandan military officer.

Dornier DO.128-6 Skyservant crash in Kaduna, 1997

All three crew members on board a Nigerian Air Force Dornier Do 128 (registration number NAF-017) died after the aircraft crashed during a local training flight on February 24, 1997.

Alenia G-222 aircraft crash in Port Harcourt, 2010

An Alenia G-222 aircraft with registration number NAF 950, operated by the Nigerian Air Force, was destroyed in a runway excursion during a landing at Port Harcourt International Airport on March 12, 2010, while carrying emergency and intervention workers on a mock disaster response from Abuja to Port Harcourt. Ten of the 53 passengers on board were injured. 

Dornier DO228-212 crash in Kaduna, 2015

On August 28, 2015, a Nigerian Air Force Dornier DO228-212 (registration number NAF030) crashed into a building in Ribadu Cantonment shortly after take-off from the Kaduna Military Airfield while flying from Kaduna to Abuja, killing all seven on board—two pilots, two engineers, and three passengers.

Beechcraft 350 Super King Air crash in Kaduna, 2021

A Nigerian Air Force Beechcraft 350 Super King Air with registration number NAF203, carrying General Ibrahim Attahiru, Chief of Staff of the Nigerian Army, and 10 other people, crashed due to poor weather, killing everyone on board.

Beechcraft King Air B350i military aircraft crash, 2021, Abuja

All seven passengers on a Nigerian Air Force Beechcraft King Air B350i military aircraft died after the aircraft crashed near the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on February 21, 2021. The aircraft reportedly suffered engine failure.

Nigerian Air Force Alpha Jet aircraft (NAF475) went missing in 2021, wreckage found in 2022

A Nigerian Air Force Alpha Jet aircraft manned by two crew members, with registration number NAF475, was reported to have gone off radar on March 31, 2021, in Borno. Its wreckage was later found by the Nigerian military in Sambisa on March 26, 2022.

Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 crash in Ondo, 2026

A Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 jet crashed near a naval base in the Igbokoda area of Ondo on October 6, killing 25 military officers on board.