Date & Time:
Apr 11, 2018 at 0750 LT
Type of aircraft:
Ilyushin II-76
Operator:
Registration:
7T-WIV
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Boufarik – Béchar – Tindouf
MSN:
1043419649
YOM:
1994
Country:
Algeria
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
10
Pax on board:
247
Pax fatalities:
247
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
257
Circumstances:
The aircraft was engaged in a troop transport from Boufarik to Tindouf with an intermediate stop in Béchar, west Algeria, and was carrying 247 soldiers and their family members and 10 crew members. Shortly after takeoff from the Boufarik AFB located some 25 km southwest of Algiers, while climbing to a height of about 150 meters, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in an agricultural zone located near the airport, bursting into flames. The airplane was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire. It was quickly confirmed by the Algerian Authorities that none of the 257 occupants survived the crash, among them 26 members of the Front Polisario. According to first testimonies, it appears that the left wing (engine?) was on fire when control was lost.
