Aircraft Crash-Lands In Ilorin, Two Hospitalised

Two individuals sustained serious injuries when a training aircraft crash-landed at Ilorin International Airport on Thursday.

In a statement released on Friday, the Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance at the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Bimbo Oladeji, confirmed the incident occurred at 17:28 local time on May 23, 2025.

The aircraft, which was conducting a simulated instrument approach on Runway 05 at the airport, veered off the runway and came to a halt on the grass verge.

Oladeji confirmed that both occupants on board the aircraft sustained serious injuries in the crash-landing. The nature of the injuries, however, was not immediately disclosed.

She stated, “Both sustained serious injuries and were swiftly evacuated to a medical facility, coordinated by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA.

“In response, the NSIB Go-Team is currently preparing to depart from Abuja to Ilorin to conduct on-site investigations. The team will secure the site, collect physical evidence, interview witnesses, and retrieve operational data to establish the cause and contributing factors of the incident.”

Quoting the Director General of the NSIB, Captain Alex Badeh Jr., she said, “Our thoughts are with the injured, and we commend the swift medical and emergency response. Now, our focus is on understanding exactly what went wrong. Every investigation is an opportunity to improve safety. We are deploying our team to Ilorin to ensure that no detail is overlooked.”