The first airplane accident in Nigeria took place on April 12, 1942, on a hill called Igbo Ilapa in the sleepy town of Ikogosi, Ekiti State.
Ikogosi is well-known for being the first location in Nigeria where a plane crash incident took place, in addition to housing a well-liked tourist attraction where warm and cold springs meet.
How did the crash occur?
A cargo plane carrying weapons and ammunition (including explosives) crashed at Igbo Ilapa in Ikogosi while the Second World War was still in progress. Due to the explosives’ prolonged explosions, the crash was more fatal.
Everything in the area was destroyed when this happened, and Igbo Ilapa, now known as Igbo Baalu (forest of the airplane), was completely set ablaze. We learned that the pilot made great efforts to steer the plane away from the sleepy town, where it would have crashed, killing many people and destroying many properties.
Pa Olu Adeniyi, one of the community elders who claimed to have witnessed the terrifying incident, told Premium Times that the plane crashed at around 8:15 p.m. In December 2012.
He claimed that it was a war plane loaded with weapons, ammunition, and explosives that detonated with loud bangs all through the night.
Currently, there are still some of the plane’s body parts on the hill as well as two engines with holes in them.
Additionally, the first crash involving a Nigerian-owned aircraft was noted on November 20, 1969. The government owned the DC-10 airplane. The aircraft took off from London and made an emergency landing in Lagos. The crash claimed the lives of 82 people, including the plane’s crew.