MILITARY commanders are confident they will locate the missing Nigerian Air Force (Naf) Alpha jet went missing on a reconnaissance mission over territory held by Islamist terror sect Boko Haram despite dismissing claims from local farmers saying they spotted it. Over the weekend, the plane went missing flying over Borno State while on a mission and since then, there has been speculation about its whereabouts. Local farmers said they spotted it but chief of air staff Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, said this information was not reliable and could not be used in the search. However, he thanked local people for their help and said the military will intensify its search for the plane amid speculation that Boko Haram may have shot it down. Named Alpha Jet Naf 466, the aircraft, which had two pilots on board, disappeared into thin air and there is no evidence of a crash or it being brought down. Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, who met with vice president Namadi Sambo to brief him on developments, said it did not mean the military had lost control of the country’s airspace to Boko Haram. He stated that the Nigerian Air Force now has an idea of where the aircraft could be but bad weather, as well as the fact that the area is an open Sahel, contributed to the difficulty in locating it. “The weather has not been helpful as we have deployed all our surveillance capability. The citizens have been very, very helpful and we have got good information from them but you know, in the aviation sector, we have some specific information that we ought to have to make the search easy. “The information we are getting from the citizens are good but not sufficient enough for us to define the area of search. However, we have an idea of where the aircraft could be, Air Marshal Amosu said. He insisted that the aircraft was yet to be sighted as at the time he spoke with the media contrary to insinuations that some villagers discovered it. In addition, the air force chief said he is hopeful that the two crew members remain alive. “Do not forget that it is the open Sahel. Some people may think it is easy but in the open Sahel, sometimes it is even very challenging. Human beings standing may look like trees and again, the area we are talking about we have operations going on there and we have limitations as to how to conduct the search. I am hopeful that before the end of the day or week, we should be able to provide credible information as to the location of the aircraft and then the pilots, Air Marshal Amosu added.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 21:18:06 +0000
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