It is very obvious that many Nigerians do not know that the first plane crash in Nigeria happened on April 12, 1942 on a hill called Igbo Ilapa in the quiet town of Ikogosi, Ekiti State.
The area is famous for housing a popular tourist attraction where warm and cold springs meet.
How did the crash happen?
The 2nd world war was ongoing when a cargo plane which was carrying arms and ammunition (including explosives) crashed at Igbo Ilapa in Ikogosi. The explosives made the crash a fatal one as they kept exploding for hours.
First Plane Crash In NIgeria
This set the whole of Igbo Ilapa, now called Igbo Baalu (forest of aeroplane), on fire and destroyed every living and non-living thing in the environment.
It was gathered that the pilot, with great efforts, manoeuvred the plane to crash on the forest-cloaked hill instead of the quiet town which would have left many people dead and several properties destroyed.
Till this very moment, two hole-riddled engines and other body parts of the plane can still be found on the hill.
However, the first Nigerian owned plane crash happened on November 20, 1969. The plane, VC-10, was owned by the government. The plane took off in London and crash-landed in Lagos. 82 people, including the plane crew, died in the crash.
