* Jonathan Pledges More Support
The venue of the on-going Nigerian Air Force games in Calabar was thrown into reasonable jubilation late Saturday as news filtered in that the airmen who successfully ejected from the crashed L-39 trainee plane have been treated and discharged from the hospital.
The palpable joy from the Air Force comrades at arms was understandable in view of the implication of the two airmen for national pride and professionalism. Nigeria has had an unfair share of fatalities resulting from plane crashes in recent times.
Authorities of the Akwa Ibom International Airport said that no damage was done to any of its facilities as a result of the late Friday crash.
According to Capt. Jari Williams, the Managing Director of AKIA, “no damage to AKIA facilities has been recorded. The two (02) pilots are hale and hearty and currently under observation as a matter of procedure.”
A statement entitled, “Communiqué on NAF incident at AKIA”, said that the airplane crash landed 1,100 meters away from the Runway 21 at 7.09 pm.
It explained that AKIA and Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar were jointly selected as operation zone for the year 2011 Staff Continuity Training Exercise and Sports Week of Nigeria Air force, currently going on in Calabar, Cross River.
The release quoted Williams as saying that on Friday, seven NAF airplanes had departed Margaret Ekpo International Airport en route AKIA and six of them had landed successfully.
It said that AKIA aerodrome rescue and firefighting safety team had responded promptly when the seventh airplane crash landed.
It added that the management of AKIA had since informed the Director General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) of the incident, which “was offsite the airport facilities with no recorded damage to airport facilities.”
Hence, the statement indicated, the NCAA had given AKIA clearance for continuous flight operations into and out of the airport.
“The management of AKIA wishes to assure the flying public that AKIA is safe for flight operations in line with our current certification.”
The wreckage of the crashed airplane was evacuated from the scene of the incident by 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Nigerian Air force L-39 Jet trainer aircraft from the 303 flying training school Kano ,on a routine training exercise from Calabar to Uyo, crashed at 7.30 pm on Oct.28, 50 metres from Uyo Airport.
Air Commodore Yusuf Anas, Director of Public Relations and Information Nigerian Air force, said in Calabar on Saturday that shortly after the accident, the two pilots were rushed to the hospital for medical checkup.
He said that after the checks, they were discharged and certified fit.
Anas said the Chief of Air Staff had sent an investigating team to the scene of the crash.
“As in line with the tradition of the Air force, the moment any air craft accident occurs, the chief of air staff will dispatch the safety investigators to the scene of the accident .
“And , they have been at the site on Friday. they were even able to move some of the aircraft parts that were in the premises of the airport, they were moved to a safe place awaiting further investigations,’’ he said.
Anas said that despite the accident, the moral of pilots and other members of air crew would not be affected as the air force would continue with its programmes, including a fly past at the 7th Nigerian Air Force games taking place at Calabar and Uyo same time.
On the games, Anas said it was aimed at selecting a team that would represent the Nigeria Air Force at the Armed Forces games scheduled for next year.
He said the games would also bring residents in their operational areas closer to personnel of the Air Force.
President Jonathan, while opening the games on Saturday, pledged continued resource and financial backing. Said the president in his remarks, “Given the security challenges in the country, it is imperative that the Nigerian security agencies be combat ready at all times.
“I wish to assure you that this administration will continue to support the Nigerian Air Force to ensure the security of lives of all Nigerians,’’ the president said.
Jonathan, who was represented by the Minister of Defence, Dr Haliru Bello, commended the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), AVM Mohammed Umar, for reviving the NAF games after several years.
“I wish to commend the CAS for reviving the NAF games which I understand was last held in 2005, and also for his other laudable initiatives,’’ he said.
He described the theme of the games, “ Harmony through Sports,’’ as falling in line with the Transformation Agenda of the administration.
Jonathan also urged the participants to use the opportunity provided by the games to improve their physical and mental fitness.
He thanked Gov. Liyel Imoke of Cross River and Gov. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom for accepting to host the games.
In his speech, Umar said that NAF was always ready to discharge its assigned role.
“As a fighting force, our goal in NAF remains how best to discharge our assigned responsibilities,’’ he said.
He said the Air force decided to host the games in Cross River and Akwa Ibom in appreciation of the support the force had received from the two sister states.
Umar charged NAF personnel participating at the games to uphold the good image of the force throughout the competition.
He said the competition was part of NAF’s preparation for the forthcoming Armed Forces and Security Agencies Games in 2012.
“It is also part of our efforts to interact more with our host states,’’ he added.
In his remarks, Imoke expressed the state’s happiness in hosting the games, adding that this was part of his administration’s sport development policy.
He enjoined participants to avail themselves of the hospitality of Cross River people.
The one-week competition is featuring over 20 sporting events including football, judo and basketball.
Additional Reports Courtesy of the News Agency of Nigeria.