Trans Service Airlift Lockheed L-188 crash

Trans Service Airlift Lockheed L-188 Crash

Accident summary
Date	December 18, 1995
Type	Possible stall due to overloading
Site	Cahungula, Angola
Passengers	139
Crew	5
Injuries	3
Fatalities	141
Survivors	3
Aircraft type	Lockheed L-188C Electra
Operator	Trans Service Airlift
Tail number	9Q-CRR
Flight origin	Damba Airport, Angola
Destination	Unknown

The Trans Service Airlift Lockheed L-188 crash occurred on 18 December 1995 when a Lockheed L-188C Electra owned by Trans Service Airlift crashed shortly after takeoff from Jamba Airport (JMB), Angola, killing 141 of the passengers and crew.

Trans Service Airlift (TSA), was a private company headquartered at Ndjili Airport, Kinshasa. The Electra, MSN 1080, was one of two of a number of aging craft operated by TSA. It was built in 1959, flown by Eastern Air Lines 1959-1968, acquired by Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas (now LAPSA Air Paraguay) 1968, and sold to TSA in 1994.

On the date of the accident, the aircraft was a special charter for UNITA. Following the 1993 trade embargo on UNITA there were frequent "sanction busting" flights out of Zaire. TSA was one of the companies cited in connection with these operations. These flights rarely carried weapons (which were typically supplied over ground routes); usual cargos were personnel, fuels, food, and medical supplies. The Angolan Government later claimed the aircraft was carrying weapons.

The aircraft, with 139 passengers and five crew members, was carrying forty more people than the plane was designed to carry, without taking cargo into account. It crashed very soon after take-off, in the initial climb phase of flight. Some reports speculate that a movement of the cargo may have caused the crash.

One member of the crew and two passengers survived the initial crash. The accident was the worst plane crash in 1995 until the crash of American Airlines Flight 965 two days later. It remains the worst ever plane crash in Angola.

See also

• List of accidents and incidents involving airliners by airline

External links

• Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network