2011 Pointe-Noire Trans Air Congo An-12 crash
Encyclopedia
The 2011 Pointe-Noire Trans Air Congo An-12 crash occurred on 21 March 2011 when Antonov An-12
TN-AGK of Trans Air Congo
crashed on approach to Pointe Noire Airport
, Republic of the Congo. A total of twenty-three people were killed. The aircraft involved had been listed as 'not airworthy' in 2006 by the ICAO.
(2:30 pm UTC
), when a Trans Air Congo
cargo plane, previously declared as unairworthy, crashed during a scheduled flight in the Mvou-Mvou district of Pointe-Noire
. Although no METAR
was available from Pointe Noire Airport, weather conditions were good, with temperatures of 31 °C, QNH
1011 hPA
falling to 1007 hPa and winds from the east to the south west at between 4 and 12 kn (7.8 and 23.5 km/h).
The flight had been cleared to land at the Pointe-Noire airport, and was on approach to the runway when the crash occurred. According to the Russian Embassy, the flight had attempted an emergency ditching in the sea, but was unable to do so.
Four crew members were on board. It was initially reported that five 'illegal' passengers were also on board, but this was later stated not to be the case. The use of the Antonov An-12 for carrying passengers is prohibited in the Republic of the Congo.
There were conflicting reports about the number of dead and injured, with figures of 16, 17, and 19 reported. On 23 March, the Pointe-Noire mayor Roland Bouiti-Viaudo stated that 23 bodies had been recovered to date. The number of injured was 14. On 23 March, Congo's Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile du Congo issued an update stating only four crew were on the aircraft. They were killed, as were 19 on the ground.
Video of the crashing aircraft shows it rolling to starboard and simultaneously diving to the ground. Both port engines are producing significant amounts of smoke. The smoke produced from the port engines appears to be normal engine exhaust, which highlights the absence of exhaust from the starboard pair of engines. If two of the engines on the aircraft were not operational, a significant amount of asymmetric thrust would be generated, which is capable of causing an aircraft to roll unless properly corrected for. The video also clearly shows the aircraft otherwise configured for landing, with extended flaps and landing gear down. A failure of both engines on one wing for this aircraft type may exceed the rudder authority of the aircraft to counter the asymmetric thrust.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Antonov An-12
The Antonov An-12 is a four-engined turboprop transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10.-Design and development:...
TN-AGK of Trans Air Congo
Trans Air Congo
Trans Air Congo is a scheduled passenger and cargo airline based in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo. Trans Air Congo has interline agreements with South African Airways, Air Gabon and Air France. It currently operates some services on behalf of Air Gabon....
crashed on approach to Pointe Noire Airport
Pointe Noire Airport
Antonio Agostinho Neto International Airport , is an airport located in Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo. It is one of two international airports in the country, the other being Brazzaville Maya-Maya Airport.-History:...
, Republic of the Congo. A total of twenty-three people were killed. The aircraft involved had been listed as 'not airworthy' in 2006 by the ICAO.
Accident sequence
The accident occurred on 21 March 2011 at 3:30 pm local timeWest Africa Time
West Africa Time, or WAT, is a time zone used in west-central Africa . The zone is one hour ahead of UTC , which makes it the same as Central European Time...
(2:30 pm UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
), when a Trans Air Congo
Trans Air Congo
Trans Air Congo is a scheduled passenger and cargo airline based in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo. Trans Air Congo has interline agreements with South African Airways, Air Gabon and Air France. It currently operates some services on behalf of Air Gabon....
cargo plane, previously declared as unairworthy, crashed during a scheduled flight in the Mvou-Mvou district of Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department since 2004. Before this date it was the capital of the Kouilou region . It is situated on a headland between Pointe-Noire Bay and the Atlantic Ocean...
. Although no METAR
METAR
METAR is a format for reporting weather information. A METAR weather report is predominantly used by pilots in fulfillment of a part of a pre-flight weather briefing, and by meteorologists, who use aggregated METAR information to assist in weather forecasting....
was available from Pointe Noire Airport, weather conditions were good, with temperatures of 31 °C, QNH
QNH
QNH is one of the many Q codes. It is defined as, "barometric pressure adjusted to sea level." It is a pressure setting used by pilots, air traffic control , and low frequency weather beacons to refer to the barometric setting which, when set on an aircraft's altimeter, will cause the altimeter to...
1011 hPA
Pascal (unit)
The pascal is the SI derived unit of pressure, internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus and tensile strength, named after the French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and philosopher Blaise Pascal. It is a measure of force per unit area, defined as one newton per square metre...
falling to 1007 hPa and winds from the east to the south west at between 4 and 12 kn (7.8 and 23.5 km/h).
The flight had been cleared to land at the Pointe-Noire airport, and was on approach to the runway when the crash occurred. According to the Russian Embassy, the flight had attempted an emergency ditching in the sea, but was unable to do so.
Four crew members were on board. It was initially reported that five 'illegal' passengers were also on board, but this was later stated not to be the case. The use of the Antonov An-12 for carrying passengers is prohibited in the Republic of the Congo.
There were conflicting reports about the number of dead and injured, with figures of 16, 17, and 19 reported. On 23 March, the Pointe-Noire mayor Roland Bouiti-Viaudo stated that 23 bodies had been recovered to date. The number of injured was 14. On 23 March, Congo's Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile du Congo issued an update stating only four crew were on the aircraft. They were killed, as were 19 on the ground.
Video of the crashing aircraft shows it rolling to starboard and simultaneously diving to the ground. Both port engines are producing significant amounts of smoke. The smoke produced from the port engines appears to be normal engine exhaust, which highlights the absence of exhaust from the starboard pair of engines. If two of the engines on the aircraft were not operational, a significant amount of asymmetric thrust would be generated, which is capable of causing an aircraft to roll unless properly corrected for. The video also clearly shows the aircraft otherwise configured for landing, with extended flaps and landing gear down. A failure of both engines on one wing for this aircraft type may exceed the rudder authority of the aircraft to counter the asymmetric thrust.
Investigation
A joint committee was set up by the Congolese Government to investigate the accident. Committee members include members of the Government, the police and representatives from the aviation industry in the Republic of the Congo.The cause of the accident is under investigation.