How First Female Combat Helicopter Pilot Was Killed By Old Schoolmate

The Nigerian Air Force has lost its first female combat helicopter pilot, Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile. She died in an auto crash on Tuesday. The young officer was killed by a reversing car inside the Air Force base in Kaduna. The car was driven by her old schoolmate.

The deceased pilot was winged last year by Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Saddique Abubakar in Abuja.

Air Force Director of Public Relations and Information Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, in a statement in Abuja, said: “Flying Officer Arotile died on 14 July 2020 at the age of 24, when she was inadvertently hit by the reversing vehicle of an excited former Air Force Secondary School classmate while trying to greet her.

“Flying Officer Arotile joined the Nigerian Air Force out of a passion for the job. In her words “I joined the military simply out of a passion for it. Being military personnel has been a long time ambition, the carriage and what it stands for are simply exceptional.

“Born on 13 December 1995 to the family of Mr and Mrs Akintunde Arotile in Kaduna, Flying Officer Tolulope Oluwatoyin Sarah Arotile hails from Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State. She attended Air Force Primary School, Kaduna from 2000 – 2005 and Air Force Secondary School, Kaduna from 2006 – 2011 before she later gained admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna as a member of 64 Regular Course on 22 September 2012.

“Flying Officer Arotile was commissioned into the Nigerian Air Force as a Pilot Officer on 16 September 2017 and holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the Nigerian Defence Academy.

“Flying Officer Arotile was winged as the first-ever female combat helicopter pilot in the Nigerian Air Force on 15 October 2019, after completing her flying training in South Africa. She holds a commercial pilot license and also underwent tactical flying training on the Agusta 109 Power Attack Helicopter in Italy.

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