An-12 Down In DRC

[steamchicken]

There's also been 2xIL-76 losses this year - one in Sudan and one into Lake Victoria. And another AN12 was wrecked at Riyan in the Yemen. (UN-11007, a veteran of Air Bas, Irbis and a few other Viktor Bout companies.) EL-WVA, if I remember rightly, was an illegal registration and no-one knew the aircraft's true provenance.

Anyone know the reg of this one?

[an-124]

How the hell did they get 26 pax in an An-12?
It is an unpressurised freighter??

You can only fit the flight crew + 3 pax max. ?????


Any news on the operator?? or the reg??

[BUSHJEPPY]

you have to know that in some countries in Africa, people turn up to the cargo only aircraft just before departure, pay the crew some dollars, and they board. If you are lucky, you might sit on a plastic chair, otherwise you make youself comfortable on the boxes or bags. One AN-12 in Sudan went dow on fire because some passengers were cocking tea with a petrol burner in the hold that was loaded with hazardeous material. Lethal combination.

Nobody knows how many passengers this military transport took, some estimations are up to two hundred that were sucked out of the hold:

Status: Preliminary
Date: 08 MAY 2003
Type: Ilyushin 76MD
Operating for: Congolese Air Force
Leased from: Ukrainian Cargo Airways
Registration: UR-UCB
Msn / C/n: 0063467003
Year built: 1986
Engines: 4 Soloviev D-30KP-2
Crew: 0 fatalities / ? on board
Passengers: 7 fatalities / ? on board
Total: 7 fatalities / ? on board
Airplane damage: Written off
Location: near Kinshasa (Congo (Democratic Republic))
Phase: En route
Nature: Military passenger
Departure airport: Kinshasa
Destination airport: Lubumbashi-Luano (FBM)
Narrative:
Ilyushin 76 UR-UCB was leased to the Congolese Ministry of Defense by the Ukrainian company Ukrainian Cargo Airways and operated in Congo since December 2002. On May 8th, soldiers and and their families boarded the transport plane for a flight from Kinshasa to Lubumbashi. The aircraft also carried some military vehicles. About 45 minutes into the flight the rear cargo door opened in flight, causing decompression of the cargo hold. A number of passengers were sucked out. The plane returned safely to Kinshasa. Seven people were confirmed dead by a government spokesman, while others estimate many more may have been killed (maybe even around 60).

[policepilot]

Station calling Goma,, say again your call sign. Radar,, you make me larfff. And the runways only 'sometimes poorly marked'.
Yet call me tomorrow and I'll try be on the next flight out.

[poorwanderingwun]

The one thing that I've learned while flying around the Congo is that EVERYTHING....everything from the tiniest microbe through the animal world, the population and up to the largest storm systems...EVERYTHING...is out to Getcha !

And just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean it isn't true...

[steamchicken]

Reg may have been 9Q-CVQ, which is also a B707 at Kinshasa. Strange, that..

[Gunship]

In Angola the 727 guys took $500 to $1k per pax, but that was in a an aircraft where they can "fit"in not an AN 12

Blame the crews that do this practise .. then again most are dead now ...

[BUSHJEPPY]

Not CVQ, but rather 9Q-CVG with unknown MSN (source: www.aviation-safety.net)

And indeed this reg also belonged to a 707-358C of Hewa Bora, now been scrapped in Kin and to a 707-320C of Katale Transport, destroyed in 1990 at Goma.

But it could also have been 9U-BHN (Burundi). It has been seen lately in Goma but flying for Mango Airlines.

Anybody out there that knows the correct reg or MSN?

[Grizzly Bare]

Lots is made by many people about different aircraft seen at different times with the same Congolese registration.
The Congo has a large aviation fleet, but is one of the unfortunate countries with only 2 registration letters available, rather than the 3 most of us are used to. All Conglese civil aircraft are registered in the series 9Q-Cxx.
This means that Kinshasa has to "recycle" registrations much faster than most other countries, and coupled with the high attrition rate of Congolese aircraft, the same registration letters can be reallocted twice in a year.

[napoleon]

This aircraft belonged/s to the same person as the UG registered L10-11 mentioned on this forum from time to time. Hey GB u know the DRC system well! ever come in useful?

[napoleon]

poorwanderingwun having spent many years in the wonderous country I have suffered a lot but I never quite thought of it as you have. Very well put I must say!!!!! eveything is not only out to get you!!!! it "WILL" get you eventually. Like a bad woman .. draws you in sucks yah dry and spits yah out pennyless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!