Crash of an Ilyushin II-18V in Linoghin: 47 killed
Date & Time:
Aug 11, 1974
Operator:
Registration:
TZ-ABE
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Bamako - Kano - Mecca - Jeddah - Khartoum - Kano - Bamako
MSN:
181 0033 04
YOM:
1961
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
50
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
47
Circumstances:
The airplane was engaged in a monthly schedule flight from Bamako to Saudi Arabia. En route from Bamako to Kano, ATC informed the crew about the deterioration of the weather conditions and instructed the pilots to divert to Niamey. In marginal weather conditions, the crew apparently lost his orientation and probably following a navigational error, the airplane flew to the west when the crew realized he was flying over the region of Ouagadougou, about 400 km southwest of Niamey. Shortly later, as he was short of fuel, the crew was forced to attempt an emergency landing when the airplane crashed in an open field located in Linoghin, about 40 km east of Ouagadougou. Two crew members and 11 passengers were injured while 47 other occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The accident was the consequence of a fuel exhaustion caused by probable navigational errors on part of the crew who lost his orientation in poor weather conditions.
