Our helicopter didn’t crash in Bauchi – Police

By GBENGA OMOKHUNU, Abuja

The Police Force on Thursday denied the crash of its helicopter in Bauchi.

According to reports, a helicopter belonging to the Nigerian Police Force crashed in Bauchi on Wednesday, injuring six persons.

Reacting to the development, the Force Public Relations Officer, CP Frank Mba told The Nation in Abuja that the helicopter did not crash, explaining that the pilot only had a controlled landing.

Mba clarified that the helicopter took off from Abuja and got to Bauchi around 7am but the pilot discovered that there was no light on the runway.

He said only the tail rotor of the helicopter was damaged

He said: “Our plane did not crash. We had a controlled landing in Bauchi. The chopper departed Abuja and got into Bauchi at about 7am on Thursday.

“And incidentally the runway lights were off. So visibility was an issue. They hovered around the airport hoping that somebody would turn-on the light.

“They tried to reach them on the communication set, nobody was on the control towel and at the end of the day they had no choice but to do a control landing. And they landed safely.

“The only thing that happened is that very close to where they landed the tail rotor hit a branch of a tree. So the only damage they had was to the tail rotor.

“And there were six persons onboard and nobody was injured. And there was no major damage to the plane”. (The Nation)