Ondo air crash: NCAA may deepen collaboration with NAF to boost aviation safety

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, may deepen collaboration with the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, to boost aviation safety following the Ondo air crash that left 25 military personnel dead.

This comes as the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, announced closer collaboration between the two agencies.

The agreement was reached when Keyamo paid a condolence visit to Aneke following the tragic NAF aircraft crash in Igbokoda, the headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, which claimed the lives of 25 military personnel.

Keyamo said that after signing the condolence register, he held a closed-door meeting with Aneke, during which both officials agreed on the need for closer cooperation between the civil and military aviation authorities.

He said the collaboration would cover aviation safety, airworthiness, certification, training and capacity building, while both institutions would retain their statutory mandates.

“We have decided that we will cooperate in terms of capacity building,” he added.

For his part, Aneke commended Keyamo for the condolence visit and his continued support for the Nigerian Air Force.

“We have both agreed that we need to move the aviation industry, whether military or civil, to a higher level,” Aneke said.