The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, has described the successful reactivation of the NAF-039 as an operational gain which speaks to the Nigerian Air Force’s commitment to self-reliance.
This follows the reactivation of the Dornier DO-228 aircraft which had been grounded for 23 years by engineers and technicians.
According to the spokesman for the Nigeria Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Olusola Akinboyewa, the aircraft, originally designated 5N-MPS and operated by the defunct Ministry of Mines, Power, and Steel, had been grounded at the DANA facility in Kaduna since 2001.
He says following a Presidential Directive, the Nigerian Air Force embarked on the project, reactivated the aircraft and redesignated it NAF 039.
Air Vice Marshal Olusola Akinboyewa adds that the feat was achieved between June and September last year by a team of five engineering officers and 40 technicians from the NAF 431 Engineering Group Kaduna.
