Military passenger plane crashes in Nigeria, seven dead (VIDEOS)
A light passenger aircraft belonging to the Nigerian military has crashed outside the country’s capital city of Abuja. The plane was obliterated on impact, catching fire and killing everyone on board.
The crash occurred close to Abuja’s main airport on Sunday afternoon. The plane, a King Air 350, reported an engine failure in flight and attempted to land at the airfield, but failed to reach the runway, the country’s Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika said on Twitter.
“A military aircraft King Air 350 has just crashed short of our Abuja runway after reporting engine failure en route [to] Minna. It appears to be fatal,” the minister wrote without providing any further details.
A chartered flight just crashed at the Abuja Airport now. Everything burnt gosh 😭😭😭😭😭God help this nation pic.twitter.com/qjjyisB6CT
— Imoleayo Michael 👑 {iCode}🕊️ (@imoleayomichael) February 21, 2021
Footage from the scene circulating online shows that the plane was destroyed on impact and caught fire with nothing remaining except for parts of its tail.
A Charted Plane carrying 6 persons just crashed at Abuja Airport So sad 😢 💔💔 pic.twitter.com/J2fZpPwpcH
— Proud Igbo Boy (@OtukaC) February 21, 2021
The accident attracted a large crowd of onlookers who surrounded the crash site, another video shows.
BREAKING News:Plane crash in Abuja close to the airportAt the moment, no survivor pic.twitter.com/xzecqivvXT
— KHAL BUSSIE 💙 (@iam_bussie) February 21, 2021
The country’s air force confirmed later in the day that all seven people on board the aircraft had been killed. King Air 350s are small twin-turboprop aircraft capable of carrying up to 13 passengers and crew, depending on the model.
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