NAF Aircraft That Cr∆shed In Ondo Spent Nearly 3 Years Grounded In Germany For Maintenance
NAF Aircraft That Crashed In Ondo Spent Nearly 3 Years Grounded In Germany For Maintenance
SaharaReporters gathered that the aircraft was part of a $73 million contract signed in March 2007 under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration and delivered in 2010 under the late President Yar’Adua.
The Nigerian Air Force aircraft marked NAF 931, which crashed near the Igbokoda Naval Base in Ondo State on Monday, is a 16-year-old ATR-42-500MP Maritime Patrol aircraft delivered to the Federal Government in 2010 under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
SaharaReporters gathered that the aircraft was part of a $73 million contract signed in March 2007 under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration and delivered in 2010 under the late President Yar’Adua.
The contract was between the Nigerian government and Alenia Aeronautica (now Leonardo of Italy) for two ATR-42MP aircraft, including crew training, logistics and spare parts.
Nigeria became the first export customer for the type. Before Nigeria, only the Italian Guardia di Finanza and the Italian Coast Guard operated it.
According to documents seen by SaharaReporters, the aircraft were delivered brand new in “green” configuration from ATR’s facility in Toulouse, France, before being converted to the Maritime Patrol configuration at Alenia’s plants in Brindisi and Turin-Caselle, Italy.
While the first aircraft, NAF 930, was delivered in December 2009, the second aircraft, NAF 931, was formally delivered on March 29, 2010, at a ceremony in Turin attended by top NAF officers, including the then Chief of Operations, Air Vice Marshal D.S. Dillimono.
The ATR-42MP platform is fitted with Selex Galileo ATOS (Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance System), search radar and electro-optical sensors.
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Three Years Grounded In Germany
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Checks by SaharaReporters show that NAF 931 has a history of prolonged groundings for maintenance.
In September 2013, NAF 931 was spotted at Edinburgh Airport in Scotland for maintenance at the Air Contractors facility.
Its sister aircraft, NAF 930, was flown to the Rheinland Air Service (RAS) facility in Monchengladbach, Germany, in September 2019 for Periodic Depot Maintenance (PDM) after clocking 5,000 flight hours or 10 years of operation and returned in July 2020 after being delayed by COVID-19 restrictions.
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NAF 931 was then flown to the same German facility in January 2022 for the same PDM.
Photographs from June 4,2022, showed it parked outside the facility with its right engine removed.
It remained on the ground there for almost three years until late December 2024, when it returned to Nigeria, according to Military Africa.
The Nigerian Air Force did not officially explain the reason for the prolonged stay.
Rheinland Air Service is one of only three companies worldwide certified for the repair and overhaul of ATR control elements such as landing flaps, and NAF engineers participated in the reactivation process in Germany.
How NAF May Have Spent $7 Million On NAF 931 Maintenance
Although the Nigerian Air Force has not disclosed how much was spent on the maintenance, aviation industry estimates indicate that the 35-month stay of NAF 931 in Germany may have cost between $4.5 million and $7 million, more than double what was spent on its sister aircraft.
Industry data reviewed by SaharaReporters shows that a standard PDM for a commercial ATR-42 costs about $700,000 for four checks in a 14,500 flight-hour cycle, with landing gear overhaul alone costing $240,000 for the ATR-42-500 variant and rotable support costing about $25,000 per aircraft monthly.
However, NAF 931 is a military Maritime Patrol variant fitted with ATOS mission system, Gabbiano radar and EOST-45 sensor, which pushes the core PDM labour and certification cost at RAS to between $2 million and $3 million.
SaharaReporters gathered that beyond the core PDM, additional costs accrued due to the prolonged grounding.
Rotables and exchange fees calculated at $25,000 monthly amount to about $875,000 for 35 months. Hangarage and parking fees estimated at €300 to €500 per day translate to between $350,000 and $580,000 over 1,065 days.
Preservation and de-preservation cycles required every 90 days for engines, propellers and fuel systems added an estimated $150,000 to $250,000, while parts obsolescence and sourcing, evidenced by the June 2022 photograph showing the aircraft with its right engine missing, is estimated to have cost between $500,000 and $1 million for PW127E engine parts and Hamilton Standard propeller components.
Ferry flight costs for the trip from Benin to Monchengladbach via Algeria and back, including fuel, overflight permits and crew allowances, added another $180,000 to $250,000.
In contrast, NAF 930 spent about 10 months in the same facility between September 2019 and July 2020 at an estimated $2 million to $2.5 million, indicating that NAF 931 incurred an additional $2.5 million to $4.5 million due to the delay alone.
Since its induction, NAF 931 has been operated by the 81 Air Maritime Group in Benin, Edo State, and was routinely deployed with the 75 Strike Group in Yola for counter-insurgency operations under Operation Lafiya Dole.
It is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW127E engines with Hamilton Standard 568F six-blade propellers. It has a maximum cruise speed of 280 KTAS (518 km/h), a range of about 1,500 nautical miles and an endurance of over eight hours.
The aircraft’s roles include maritime surveillance of Nigeria’s Exclusive Economic Zone, anti-piracy, anti-oil bunkering, anti-smuggling, pollution control, search and rescue, overland Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and limited transport duties.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had on Monday confirmed that the aircraft with tail number NGR 931, en route from Benin to Lagos, lost contact with air traffic controllers at about 9:13 a.m. before its wreckage was later located close to the Naval Base in Igbokoda, Ondo State.
Keyamo said 25 passengers and seven crew members were on board.
Military sources confirmed to SaharaReporters that all 32 persons on board died in the crash.
“Thirty-two people died in the plane crash that occurred in Ondo State,” a source privy to the information told SaharaReporters.
The wreckage was located in the swampy riverine area opposite the Naval Base in Igbokoda.
