The Trans Service Airlift Lockheed L-188 crash occurred on 18 December 1995 when a

Lockheed L-188C Electra The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flown in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner built in the United States. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes that led to expensiv ...

owned by

Trans Service Airlift Trans Service Airlift (TSA) was an airline based at N'djili Airport, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was privately owned and operated in years 1991–1998. Accidents and incidents *On December 18, 1995 a Lockheed L-188 Electra, Loc ...

crashed near Jamba,

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, killing 141 of the passengers and crew. Trans Service Airlift (TSA), was a private company headquartered at Ndjili Airport,

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

. The Electra was one of a number of ageing aircraft operated by TSA. Built in 1959 it was sold to TSA in 1992, after service with other operators. On the date of the accident, the aircraft was flying a special charter for

UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...

. 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 cargoes 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 two minutes after take-off. Some reports speculate that cargo may have slid to the back of the plane, resulting in a weight imbalance and causing the crash. Initial reports by Zairean officials stated that the plane crashed near Cahungula,

Lunda Norte Province Lunda Norte ( en, North Lunda) is a province of Angola. It has an area of 103,760 km² and a population of 862,566. Angola's first President, Agostino Neto, made Lucapa the provincial capital after independence, but the capital was later mov ...

, while transporting diamond miners from

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

's capital,

. The co-pilot and two passengers survived the initial crash. The accident was the deadliest plane crash in 1995 until the crash of American Airlines Flight 965 two days later. It remains the deadliest ever plane crash in Angola.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trans Service Airlift Lockheed L-188 Crash Aviation accidents and incidents in Angola Aviation accidents and incidents in 1995 Accidents and incidents involving the Lockheed L-188 Electra Trans Service Airlift accidents and incidents 1995 in Angola December 1995 events in Africa 1995 disasters in Angola

See also

References