Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot has died

Nigerian Air Force’s first female combat helicopter pilot, Tolulope Arotile, has died in a road accident.

It was learnt that Arotile sustained head injuries from the road accident which occurred at the NAF Base in Kaduna.

NAF in a press statement said the flight officer died on Tuesday.

The statement quoted the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, as describing her death as an “irreparable loss”.

Arotile, recently completed a programme at the Starlite International Training Academy, South Africa.

Arotile, who hailed from Iffe in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, recently completed a programme at the Starlite International Training Academy, South Africa.

“Until her death, ?Flying Officer Arotile, who was commissioned into the NAF in September 2017 as a member of Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 64, was the first-ever female combat helicopter pilot in the Service.?

“During her short but impactful stay in the Service, the late Arotile contributed significantly to the efforts to rid the North Central States of armed bandits and other criminal elements by flying several combat missions under Operation GAMA AIKI in Minna, Niger State.

Arotile graduated as the best flight student from the Nigerian Air Force in 2017.