Breaking News: Arotile 23 Years Old First Female Nigeria’s Combat Helicopter Pilot, Dies In Auto crash

Nigerian female Flying officer Tolulope Arotile, the first female combat helicopter pilot in Nigeria, died at age 23 after suffering head injuries as a result of a road traffic accident at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) base in Kaduna.

Arotile’s death came just more than a year after she was winged in the Air Force as a combat helicopter pilot after her course in South Africa was completed.

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Confirming the accident, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, NAF’s Director of Public Relations and Information, confirmed that until her death, Flying Officer Arotile, who was commissioned to the NAF as a member of the Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 64 in September 2017, was the first female combat helicopter pilot in the military.

Read the official statement from NAF below:

2/4. as a result of head injuries sustained from a road traffic accident at NAF Base Kaduna. Until her death, Fg Offr Arotile, who was commissioned into the NAF in Sept 2017 as a member of @HQ_NDA RC 64, was the first ever female combat helicopter pilot in the Service. pic.twitter.com/4rhbdNP60D

— Nigerian Air Force (@NigAirForce) July 14, 2020

4/4. @CAS_AMSadique on behalf officers, airmen, airwomen and civilian staff of the NAF, commiserates with the family of late Flying Officer Arotile over this irreparable loss. We pray that the Almighty God grants her soul eternal rest. pic.twitter.com/oVvM2MXvke

— Nigerian Air Force (@NigAirForce) July 14, 2020