View Full Version : Plane crash in Somaila
rugmuncher
23rd Mar 2007, 15:15
Just in!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6485367.stm
IL-76 supporting the U.N. RIP
Cargo Plane Is Shot Down in Somalia
Associated Press
MOGADISHU, Somalia -- A cargo plane that had delivered equipment for Ugandan peacekeepers in the Somali capital was shot down by a missile during takeoff Friday, the owner of the plane said. A witness said the aircraft crashed in flames after one of its wings fell into the Indian Ocean.
Egi Azarian, the acting head of Belarus-based Transaviaexport, confirmed that the company's plane was shot down Friday. Transaviaexport, based in Minsk, Belarus, operates only Ilyushin-76s, one of the largest cargo planes in the world. The aircraft requires a crew of six, is 153 feet long and can carry nearly 50 tons of cargo.
Muse Sheik Osman, who lives in the north of the city, said he saw the burning plane come down and heard the sound of an anti-aircraft missile being fired shortly before the crash.
Capt. Paddy Ankunda, spokesman for the Ugandan peacekeepers in Somalia, confirmed a crash. Ankunda said he did not know the nationalities of the crew or whether they had survived, but said: "We are afraid that they have gone."
Muse Hassan, a resident of north Mogadishu, said he saw the burning plane flying at a low altitude along the beach. "One of the wings fell in the ocean and smoke was coming from the bottom of the plane," Hassan said.
Abdi Mohumed, another resident of northern Mogadishu, said he saw fire and smoke billowing from the plane. "I have seen one of plane's wings burning and heard a very loud sound. I was so terrified," Mohumed said.
STRATFOR: ........A plane that was reportedly shot down March 23 shortly after taking off from the airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, was carrying 11 people, an African Union spokesman said. The personnel on the plane, which was a Russian-made Il-76, were engineers working to repair another damaged aircraft at the airport, Reuters reported, citing a Somalian government official.
CargoOne
23rd Mar 2007, 20:48
This IL76 belongs to Transaviaexport who already had their IL76 shot down in Mogadishou just over a week ago (was reported on Pprune), but managed to land in one piece. I understood today's flight was bringing engineers and spares to repair the first aircraft and was departing empty.
Agaricus bisporus
24th Mar 2007, 13:25
Somalia/Mogadishu. What a tragedy that place is. Described by Scott Peterson in his book as "A land forgotten by God".
Never was a comfortable place to get in and out of even when the UN were there in force. It always surprised me how almost everyone made long straight standard approaches and departures over the gun-infested city instead of tactically getting offshore as fast as possible. Flying straight and level over Mogadishu is possibly more temptation than those trigger-happy villains can stand...Two in a week, that's bad news.
Me and my clan against the world;
Me and my family against my clan;
Me and my brother against my family;
Me against my brother.
The hierarchy of priorities,
as ordered by a Somali proverb
No wonder the UN just pulled out and left them to it.
Fox3snapshot
26th Mar 2007, 00:51
When we were controlling there during the conflict the aircraft could only land in from the direction of the sea and take off towards the sea as the city end of the airfield was tiger country and the threat of an aircraft shootdown was high. It was believed there was ZSU23 and other types of anti-aircraft weaponry in theatre.
This latest incident is testimony to that it seems.
My genuine sympathy to the crews families, we deal with this company here as well on a daily basis. :(