NAF Helicopter crashes in Port- Harcourt , crew members alive

An MI-35P helicopter belonging to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has crashed in Port Harcourt.

According to a statement issued by NAF’s Director of Public Relations and Information Air Commodore, Edward Gabkwet, today, the unfortunate incident occurred at about 7.45am shortly after the aircraft took off for an operation against economic saboteurs in Rivers State.

Fortunately, the entire crew of 5 survived the crash with very minor injuries and are currently being attended to at NAF Medical Centre Port Harcourt.

The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, is currently en-route Port Harcourt to access the situation for himself, see to the wellbeing of the crew and give further directives.

This incident, according to NAF is yet again a grim reminder of the dangers associated with military flying and the risks NAF pilots and technicians experience in their onerous tasks of defending our nation and deterring criminal elements from their nefarious activities.

The Nigerian Air Force operates several variants of around fifteen Mi-24/35 Hind helicopter including two second-hand Mi-35P received from Belarus in 2010, two Mi-35P and one Mi24V from Ukraine in 2008 and 2014, six second-hand but modernized Mi-35P and eight Mi-35M received from Russia in 2000 and 2012-14 respectively.

A haul of twelve brand new Mi-35Ms were ordered from Russian Helicopters in September 2015. Two were delivered in April 2017, another two helicopters arrived the next year.

Although, in January 2019, a Nigerian Air Force Mil Mi-35 crashed while providing close air support to troops of 145 Battalion at Damasak in Northern Borno State. The crash was attributed to technical malfunction.

The upgraded Mi-35P helicopter was first presented by Russia to the African nations at the Russia-Africa Economic Forum in Sochi in 2019.