Luanda

Aircraft left Maputo Airport at 1126LT on flight LAM470 to Luanda, Angola. En route, while overflying Botswana and Namibia, aircraft encountered bad weather conditions with CB's at high altitude and turbulence. In unknown circumstances, aircraft went out of control and disappeared from radar screens at 1230LT, most probably after diving into the ground. As the aircraft did not arrive at Luanda, SAR commenced but were suspended by night due to low visibility and bad weather conditions (heavy rain falls). The day after, on 30NOV, Namibia Police forces announced they located the wreckage in the Bwabwata National Park, near Divundu. Aircraft was completely destroyed by impact forces and post impact fire. All 33 occupants were killed, among them 16 Mozambicans, 9 Angolans, 5 Portuguese, one French, one Brazilian and one Chinese. The aircraft crashed in a dense wooded and isolated area, sot SAR are difficult. No distress call was sent by the crew.

The crew was performing a charter flight from Pointe Noire to Luanda with one passenger on board, the Mauritanian businessman Rashid Mustapha who was candidate to the Presidential elections in Mauritania in 2007. The pax called his bodyguard just before takeoff, asking them to be ready upon arrival at Luanda-4 de Fevereiro Airport. The twin engine aircraft departed Pointe Noire Airport at 2321LT for a 75-90 minutes flight to Luanda. Just before it started the descent, while cruising over the area of Caxito, some 50 km northeast of Luanda, the aircraft disappeared from radar screens at 0020LT. SAR operations were abandoned after few days as no trace of the aircraft nor the three occupants was found. It is possible that the aircraft crashed by night in the ocean off the Angolan coast but this was not confirmed as the wreckage was never found. Three years later, in March 2013, unconfirmed reports and rumors in Africa said that the aircraft never crashed anywhere and that Rashid Mustapha was in fact hostage by a terrorist group somewhere in Africa, but this was not confirmed by Officials in Mauritania or Angola. Without any trace of the aircraft, all hypothesis remains open.

The aircraft was completing a cargo flight from Cabinda to Luanda, carrying a load of 10 tons of various goods and seven crew members. On approach, at a distance of 1,850 metres from the runway threshold, the aircraft was about 13 metres above the glide so the crew increased the rate of descent by 6,6 metres per second, causing the aircraft to descend below the glide at a distance of 1,350 metres from the runway threshold. The aircraft was stabilized at a height of 12 metres at a distance of 290 metres from the runway threshold when it encountered strong winds. The aircraft nosed down while its speed dropped from 260 to 248 km/h and struck the ground short of runway threshold with a positive acceleration of 3,45 g. Upon impact, the undercarriage were torn off and the aircraft slid for few dozen metres before coming to rest. All seven crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

While cruising at FL170 on a cargo flight from Luanda to Dundo, the four engine aircraft was hit by a surface-to-air missile. It entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed 32 km from Malanje. All nine occupants were killed.

En route to Menongue, the aircraft was shot down by a South African special forces team with a war-booty "Strela-1" SAM on BRDM-2 chassis. The missile hit the engine n°2 and the left wing detached 47 seconds later. Out of control, the aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in a dense wooded area located near Luassingua, some 43 km east of Menongue. All 23 occupants were killed, among them Soviet and Angolan Army Officers.

After takeoff from Lubango Airport, while in initial climb at an altitude of 200 feet, the aircraft was hit by a surface-to-air missile. The aircraft turned to the left then lost height and crashed in a huge explosion about 800 meters past the runway end. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and none of the 130 occupants survived the crash.

On final approach to Menongue, the four engine airplane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile and crashed. All four crew members were killed.

On final approach to Benguela Airport, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low. On short final, the airplane struck the ground 4 meters short of runway threshold. On impact, the undercarriage were torn off. The airplane slid for about 900 meters then turn slightly to the right, lost its left engine and right wing before coming to rest in flames. All 134 occupants were evacuated, among them 34 were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

While flying at an altitude of 4,200 metres from Luanda to Malabo, the crew received the last weather briefing for Malabo Airport and was cleared to descent for a landing on runway 05. ATC requested the crew to report once runway 05 in sight and the crew gave his ETA four minutes later at 0752LT. While approaching at an altitude of 750 metres and at a speed of 490 km/h, the airplane struck the south slope of Mt San Carlos located 48 km southwest of Malabo Airport. The wreckage was sighted by the pilot of the personal helicopter of the Equatorial Guinea President five days later, on June 6. SAR teams were dispatched and arrived on scene on June 18 only. The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 45 occupants have been killed.

En route from Luanda to Henrique de Carvalho, the aircraft was hit by ground fire. The crew elected to make an emergency landing in Cuito Cuanavale. While all occupants escaped uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.