On September 26, 1992, a Nigerian Air Force Lockheed C-130H Hercules transport aircraft crashed minutes after takeoff from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, and killed 163 people on board.
The aircraft, with tail number NAF 911, was conveying senior and middle-ranking officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force who had just completed a course at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji.
According to eyewitnesses, the plane struggled in the air before plunging into a swampy area at Oke-Afa, Ejigbo at about 5:45 p.m.
Air Force authorities confirmed later that there were no survivors.
Initial reports disclosed that the aircraft was carrying about 163 military officers, including directing staff and students of Jaji, as well as crew members.
“It took off and within three minutes we heard a loud explosion. The plane was on fire before it fell,” said Alhaji Musbau Olatunji, a resident of Ejigbo who witnessed the crash.
Rescue workers and soldiers battled through the night to recover bodies from the wreckage. The smell of aviation fuel filled the air as fire service officials put out the inferno.
A senior Air Force officer who prefers anonymity said engine failure was suspected, but a full Board of Inquiry was ordered.
The Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, in a condolence message, described the incident as “a national tragedy of monumental proportions.” He ordered flags to be flown at half-mast for one week.
At the Defence Headquarters, wives of the victims wailed uncontrollably as the names of the dead were compiled.
Princess Alexandra of Kent Arrives Nigeria for Independence Celebrations
On September 26, 1960, her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Kent landed at Lagos Airport to represent Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Nigeria’s Independence celebrations.
The 23-year-old Princess, cousin to the Queen, stepped down from the Britannia aircraft at 2:30 p.m. to be greeted by His Excellency the Governor-General, Sir James Robertson, Lady Robertson, and the Federal Prime Minister, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
Despite heavy rain which soaked the city, thousands of Lagosians waving Union Jacks and Nigerian green-white-green flags lined the route from Ikeja to Government House, cheering “Welcome Alexandra.”
After the national anthems were played, a 21-gun salute boomed and the Princess inspected a guard of honour mounted by the Queen’s Own Nigeria Regiment.
She was then driven in an open landau to the Lagos Town Boundary at Iddo, where the Oba of Lagos, Oba Adeniji Adele, presented her with a Loyal Address on behalf of the people of Lagos.
In a gesture that won the hearts of the crowd, the Princess, who dressed in a light blue ensemble, ordered the hood of her state car lowered despite the rain, so that the people could see her clearly during the three-mile drive to Government House.
