| Submit your comments on this article | ||
| East/Subsaharan Africa | ||
| Scores die in freak air tragedy | ||
| 2003-05-09 | ||
| More than 120 people are feared dead in the Democratic Republic of Congo after being sucked out of a cargo plane. Military officials are quoted as saying that the rear ramp of a plane became detached soon after it had taken off from the capital, Kinshasa, on an internal flight. The Defence Minister Irung Awan told reporters that he was unaware of any deaths, but airport sources told the BBC in Kinshasa that only the Russian crew members survived. The accident took place on Thursday night about 45 minutes after the plane took off. The plane had been chartered by the military and was flying from Kinshasa to Congo's second city, Lubumbashi. "The doors opened including the ramp as the pressure system broke down," a military official told Reuters news agency. "Everybody was sucked out." The Russian crew was able to turn the Ilyushin 76 around and land at Kinshasa airport following the incident. Additional from AP: Nine survivors were being treated for minor injuries and psychological trauma at Kinshasa General Hospital, said Kabamba Mbwebwe, chief doctor at the hospital's emergency ward. "They were traumatized and spoke of their baggage flying everywhere," Mbwebwe told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
| ||
| Posted by:Steve |
| #8 The pilot later stated that he thinks that one of the passengers may have been fooling with the cargo door controls. On US cargo birds these are usually located in back near the cargo door/ramp for the loadmaster to operate while on the ground. Since this is a military cargo aircraft and was not designed for passengers (except paratroopers), these controls are probably not covered or locked away. Open the door just a crack at 10K (meters I suspect, not feet, the depressurization wouldn't have been this violent at only 10000 feet and this plane had been in the air about 45 minutes, time enough to get to altitude) and cabin air pressure will do the rest... |
| Posted by: Watcher 2003-05-10 03:44:54 |
| #7 "The Ilyushin76 is a medium- to long-range transport. The model was first flown in 1971. It is widely used around the world, particularly in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, as a civilian freighter. The plane has had a checkered safety record, including at least 45 accidents that resulted in some 393 deaths, according to the Aviation Safety Network Web site, an air safety data base. On Feb. 19, an Ilyushin 76 crashed in bad weather in Iran, killing 275, including more that 200 elite Iranian soldiers. A month earlier, another of the jets crashed while landing in thick fog in East Timor, killing all six people on board." - a little follow up from AP Thanks, I'll stick with Boeing. |
| Posted by: Mark IV 2003-05-09 15:12:03 |
| #6 Update: A plane from which some 160 people hurtled to their deaths in a freak accident over Democratic Republic of Congo belongs to Ukraine's defence ministry, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency reported Friday. The crew of the Ilyushin-76 transport aircraft are also Ukrainians and have been working in the DRC on contract, according to diplomatic sources cited by the agency. About 160 people on the Russian-built plane plunged 2,200 metres (7,000 feet) to the ground after the cargo bay door burst open in mid-flight on Thursday night, halfway between the capital Kinshasa and the distant southeastern city of Lubumbashi. Military sources in Kinshasa said that some 40 passengers had survived the disaster. The pilot managed to turn the military transport aircraft round and return to the capital. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-05-09 14:48:43 |
| #5 Ruskie aircraft are generally designed to take a lot of neglect, and to be serviced by a 19 year old wielding a ball-peen hammer. |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-05-09 13:56:08 |
| #4 Clearly a neo-colonial plot requiring reparations. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-05-09 12:36:24 |
| #3 I found this to be an absolutely horrifying story and I don't think any amount of levity is appropriate here. Please send up a prayer for the victims. |
| Posted by: ColoradoConservative 2003-05-09 12:24:01 |
| #2 I've flown on a few Russian planes and while they can certainly be nerve-rattling they are very reliable vehicles. Events like this are tragedies, but things like this do NOT happen "all the time." (Well maybe in Africa they do, but blame goes to poor maintenance - not the make of the plane.) |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2003-05-09 11:31:08 |
| #1 not amusing but it reminds me of the old joke; "Economy passengers may deplane now, for First Class passengers we will be landing in ten minutes" |
| Posted by: john 2003-05-09 10:54:30 |