Barely a year after she was winged as the first female combat helicopter pilot, Tolulope Arotile passed away in a road accident on Tuesday, July 14, 2020.
The Nigerian Airforce said she died at Nigerian Air Force Base, Kaduna after sustaining head injuries from the accident. Tolulope was praised for her eagerness to contribute to the restoration of peace in troubled regions in Nigeria.
Here are things to know about the celebrated pilot:
1. Arotile hailed from Iffe Area in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
2. She was born on December 13, 1995.
3. She attended Air Force Primary and Secondary Schools in Kaduna.
4. Arotile joined the Nigerian Airforce 401 Flying training school in Kaduna in 2012 and was commissioned into the Nigerian Air Force on September 16, 2017.
5. In 2012, she was also inducted into the Nigerian Defense Academy where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.
6. She was winged as the first-ever female combat helicopter pilot on October 15, 2019.
7. She was decorated as the first female combat helicopter pilot to join the Nigerian Air Force in 55 years by the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development
8. Tolulope was said to have loved the Military right from a young age and had always wanted to join the force.
9. She had logged over 460 hours of flight over the course of her service in the Air Force contributing to the quelling of insurgency in the North Central States under Operation GAMA AIKI.
10. Tolulope Arotile died at the age of 24.
