1979 Interflug Ilyushin Il-18 crash

Airplane crash in Luanda, Angola Ilyushin Il-18 (DDR-STO).jpg An Interflug Il-18, similar to the one involved in the crash Accident 1979 03 26 Overshoot runway due to engine failure and pilot error Quatro de Fevereiro Airport, Luanda, Angola 8 52 41 N 13 12 42 W type:event inline,title Ilyushin Il-18D Interflug DM-STL Quatro de Fevereiro Airport, Luanda, Angola Lusaka International Airport, Lusaka, Zambia 6 4 10 0 On 26 March 1979, an Ilyushin IL-18 crashed during takeoff from Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda, Angola, killing all ten people on board. Background When Angola gained independence in 1975, power was in the hands of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MLPA), which was supported by the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc. The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), which fought for the abolition of apartheid in Southern Rhodesia, also enjoyed the support of communist countries. For the planned ZAPU offensive, heavy weapons were delivered to the port of Luanda from East Germany by sea, which were planned to be further transported by air to Lusaka, Zambia, which bordered Southern Rhodesia (their government also supported ZAPU). As TAAG Angola Airlines could not transport these deliveries, an Il-18 cargo aircraft from Interflug was chartered instead, which was supposed to carry a total of 500 tons of weapons. Because the transportation of such cargo was prohibited by international agreements, the operation was carried out in secrecy. The plane arrived in Luanda, where the crew and technical staff were supposed to stay until the mission was completed.DM-STL http://www.interflug.biz/DM-STL.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20181211003157/http://www.interflug.biz/DM-STL.htm 2018-12-11 2018-02-12 de Aircraft and crew The aircraft was an Ilyushin Il-18D (registered as DM-STL) that was built and delivered to Interflug in 1966 as a passenger aircraft.Il-18D c/n 186009402 https://www.scramble.nl/database/soviet/details/82_58352 31 January 2025 Soviet Transports Database In 1974, it was converted to an Il-18Gr freighter.Billig Detlef Flugzeuge der DDR Meyer Manfred TOM Modellbau 2002 9783613021976 1 187 de GDR aircraft The crew consisted of captain Dieter Hartmann (44), first officer Jochen Wilsdorf (29), navigator Horst Umlauft (45), and flight engineer Frank-Rolf John (35).Crash of an Ilyushin II-18D in Luanda: 10 killed https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-ilyushin-ii-18d-luanda-10-killed 2023-03-24 www.baaa-acro.com Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives Accident The aircraft took off with a take-off weight of 60.5 tons. 56 seconds into the takeoff roll, engine #2 failed. The takeoff was rejected, but there was insufficient runway remaining. The aircraft overran the end of the runway at high speed, collided with the instrument landing system antennas and burst into flames. All 10 people on board were killed.Ranter Harro ASN Aircraft accident Ilyushin Il-18D DM-STL Luanda-4 de Fevereiro Airport (LAD) http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19790326-0 https://web.archive.org/web/20130720033307/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19790326-0 2013-07-20 2018-02-12 Aviation Safety Network Flight Safety Foundation Investigation The investigation was carried out by the airline led by Interflug's CEO, Klaus Henckes. The commission found that the decision to abort the takeoff was inappropriate, since the aircraft had aborted its takeoff after V1 at 145 kn km/h mph. The V1 speed of the accident flight was 120 kn km/h mph, but the takeoff was aborted at 268 km/h kn mph. Captain Hartmann attempted to rotate the aircraft despite the failure, but then rejected the takeoff, presumably concerned that the engines would not provide enough thrust.Yakubovich N. V. Все самолеты Ильюшина. Самая полная энциклопедия Eksmo 2013 978-5-699-65600-4 Moscow 146 ru All Ilyushin aircraft. The most complete encyclopedia Aftermath Due to the classified nature of the cargo, Angola's report to ICAO stated that the aircraft was carrying humanitarian aid. The Socialist Unity Party of Germany decided to continue the cargo transfer operation and sent another Ilyushin Il-18 (registration DM-STP) on 2 April 1979. References Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Angola Category:Airliner accidents and incidents involving runway overruns Category:Interflug accidents and incidents Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1979 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Ilyushin Il-18 Category:1979 in Angola Category:March 1979 in Africa Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by engine failure Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error Category:History of Luanda