► ZAMBIA: DC9 crash landing this morning was just a simulation: AFP

Those of you who follow us on Twitter will have been aware this morning of an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report coming from Lusaka, Zambia of a crash landing of a DC 9 (and in some cases, a DC 10 was even reported) with 93 people aboard at Lusaka International. It was even tweeted that "some 20 people had been rescued".

■ EGYPT: Snake bites passenger on Egyptair flight to Kuwait; forced diversion to Hurghada.

A Jordanian man, who had smuggled a snake aboard Egyptair (MS) flight MS610 from Cairo (Egypt) to Kuwait City (Kuwait) with 91 passengers, was bitten by the reptile after it managed to escape the bag he was carrying it in.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: Wreckage of missing SAAF C47 found in the Drakensburg; 11 dead.

The wreckage of a South African National Defence Force C47TP Dakota (the military version of a DC3) belonging to 35Squadron, that went missing in heavy weather on Wednesday near Nelson Mandela’s home town of Qunu, en route from Pretoria's Waterkloof Air Force Base to Mthatha, Eastern Cape, has been found in the Drakensburg Mountain range near Ladysmith, with no survivors aboard.

■ NIGERIA: Dana Air claims lack of correct paperwork submissions as cause for delayed payments to flight 9J-997's victims' families.

Grounded Nigerian carrier Dana Air (9J) has issued a response to recent reports in the Nigerian press claiming that Dana Air and its insurers had refused to pay statutory compensation to the families of victims of the Dana Air 9J-997 tragedy in Lagos in June.

► CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE): Aéro Service Ilyushin IL76 skids off runway during heavy storm at Brazzaville; at least 30 dead.

International news-wires are reporting that a AéroService (BF) Ilyushin IL76 (MSN 073410300 | EK-76300) cargo plane has overrun the runway at Brazzaville's Maya Maya Airport before crashing into houses located beside the runway, leaving 30 dead. The accident is said to have occurred at 18h00L during a heavy storm.

► COMOROS: Inter Îles Air Embraer 120 ditches into Indian Ocean shortly after take off; no casualties.

Comorien radio is reporting the ditching of a local Inter Îles Air (ZXA) Embraer 120ER (MSN: 120-149 | D6-HUA) off the coast of Hahaya, Grande Comore this afternoon Tuesday, November 27, 2012. Reports state that all on board survived.

■■ MOZAMBIQUE: Search for missing South African pilots to end Friday.

[UPDATED 20 NOVEMBER 2012] The search for two South African pilots who went missing on 27 October as they flew home to South Africa is to be called off Friday. 

Bryan Simms, 60, and his son Robert, 22, from Midrand, Johannesburg, were flying back to Lanseria airport, Johannesburg in a Beechcraft Baron 58 (MSN TH-737 | ZS-JPG). They had departed Lilongwe, Malawi en route to Lanseria when contact was lost around 45 minutes from Beira airport, Mozambique.

► SOUTH SUDAN: Kenyan Fokker 50 crash lands in Aweil; no casualties.

News wires are reporting the crash landing this afternoon, of a Kenyan Skyward International Fokker 50 (MSN: 20175 | 5Y-CAN) in Aweil, the capital of Northern Bhar al Ghazal state, South Sudan. The flight was carrying members of the International Office of Migration (IOM) returning from a conference in Khartoum, Sudan.

 

■■ SOUTH AFRICA: 7 million litres of fuel contaminated in pipeline to Joburg OR Tambo International.

UPDATE [16 NOVEMBER 2012 19h00L]The Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) this morning issued a statement to the effect that fuel in its AVTUR pipeline to Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport had been contaminated with "off-specification Jet A-1" and had therefore been rendered unfit for use by airlines.

■ SOUTH AFRICA: Global Aviation MD82 aborts takeoff from Joburg causing wheel fire; no casualties.

A chartered McDonnell Douglas MD82 (MSN: 49905 | ZS-TOG) flight QG-112 operated by Global Aviation carrying 120 passengers and seven crew members aborted take-off at around 07h15 this morning at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International Airport en route to Lilongwe, Malawi. It was later discovered that one of the tyres of the airplane had exploded on take off , causing a wheel to catch fire.

►► CHAD: Presidential Jet involved in accident in Kalait; no casualties.

Reports out of Chad claim that the Chadian Presidential Jet, carrying strongman Idriss Deby, was yesterday involved in an accident whilst landing in Bir Kalait, 750 kilometres North East of the capital, Ndjamena. No casualties were reported, though the aircraft is said to have sustained damage.

► NIGERIA: Cessna Caravan piloted by Taraba state governor, crashes; 6 in critical condition.

A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (MCN: 208B2098 | 5N-BMJ) operated by the Taraba State Government and piloted by the Governor of Taraba State in Nigeria, Dambaba Sunta, has crashed with 6 persons aboard. All are said to have survived, but are in a critical condition.

► ZAMBIA: Emirates A330 suffers port engine failure after takeoff from Lusaka, returns safely.

On Sunday 21 October, an Emirates (EK) Airbus A330-200 (MCN 525 |A6-EAP) plying the Lusaka - Dubai route as flight EK714, suffered an uncontained port engine failure, 30 minutes into its flight. The crew promptly shut down the engine and opted to return to Lusaka for a safe landing, contrary to early sensational news reports out of Zambia which claimed "the plane had a tyre burst and slipped into the bush, receiving considerable damage."

► MOROCCO: Mauritanian Airlines International Boeing 737-700 suffers second technical glitch in three weeks.

A Boeing 737-700 (MSN 34263 | 5T-CLC), leased from Aviation Capital Group and operated by Mauritanian Airlines International (L6), the national airline of Mauritania, on Tuesday, suffered yet another technical glitch; its second in 3 weeks. 

► NIGERIA: IRS Airlines Fokker 100 collides with FAAN truck whilst taxiing at Lagos; no casualties.

In an incident that strongly resembles an Arik Air B737's run-in with the wing tip of a parked Nigerian Air Force C130 Hercules aircraft at Jos Airport in July, an IRS Airlines (LVB) Fokker 100, taxiing for departure as flight LVB3306 from Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos to Kano via Abuja (Nigeria), this morning (07h48L) hit a truck belonging to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). 

► ALGERIA: Air Algérie Boeing 737 lands short of runway at Algiers; no injuries.

An Air Algérie (AH) Boeing 737-800 (MCN: 34164 | 7T-VKA), operating domestic flight AH6231 from Tamanrasset, Algeria to Algiers Houari Boumediene Airport on 18 September 2012, at 03h25 local time, reportedly landed ahead of the runway threshold on the paved surface of the runway end safety area, to the right of the extended runway centreline, thereby taking out a number of runway end and edge lights during the subsequent roll out. 

● NIGER: Remembering UTA Flight UT772, twenty three years ago today.

Today marks the 23rd anniversary of the bombing of UTA Flight 772 on 19 September 1989, a somewhat forgotten incident that bears strong similarity with a larger, more widely publicized bombing that occurred a year earlier; that of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in December 1988.

McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 "N54629" UTA772

► KENYA: Mombasa Air Safari Let410 crashes on take off killing 4 and critically injuring 3.

Another sad day today in African aviation as a Kenyan registered LET 410 (unconfirmed 5Y-UVP) belonging to Mombasa Air Safari (RRV) crashed on take off from Ngerende Airstrip in the Masai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya bound for Mombasa, killing the two pilots and two German tourists on-board with another three were critically injured. The other four passengers received injuries of varying degrees, though are in a stable condition.

►► SUDAN: Numerous Sudanese government officials killed as Alfa Air Antonov 26 crash claims 32 lives.

What should have been a day of celebration to mark the end of Ramadan instead turned into a day of national mourning as an Alfa Air Sudan Antonov 26 (MSN: 47302606 | ST-ARL) crashed into a slope in the Nuba mountains south of Talodi, at about 08h00 local time, en route from Khartoum to Talodi, South Kordofan State, killing all 32 (26 passengers and 6 crew) passengers on board.

Alfa Air Sudan An26 (ST-ARL) (UR-SDV)

The Aviation Herald reports that: 

"Local Television reported the aircraft went around on its first attempt to land in Talodi due to weather but did not manage to climb above the terrain during the go-around. Sudan's Civil Aviation Authority reported at the time of the crash, visibility was substantially reduced due to a dust and dirt storm in the area. "

Source [The Aviation Herald]

The Antonov was chartered to take the various officials to Talodi to "congratulate the town's citizens on Eid Al-Fitr."

Wreckage from the An26 "ST-ARL" (Al Shorouk)

Amongst the dead are:

1. Engineer Ghazi Al-Saddiq - the federal Minister of Guidance and Endowments.
2. Mahjoub Abdul-Rahim Tutu - the State Minister at the Ministry of Youth and Sports. 
3. Eissa Daifalla - the State Minister at the Ministry of Tourism, Antiquities and Wildlife. 
4. Ali Al-Jailani - the Minister of Education of Khartoum State. 
5. Mekki Ali Balayel - Leader of the Justice Party. 
6. Mohamed Hassan Al-Jaafari - Commissioner at Headquarters of Khartoum State. 
7. Tariq Mubarak - Commissioner of Khartoum North. 
8. Maj. Gen. Salah Ismail - the Air Forces. 
9. Maj. Gen. Ahmed Musa Ahmed - the Police Forces. 
10. Maj. Gen. Ahmed Al-Tayeb Abu-Guroon, the Security and Intelligence Organ. 
11. Brigadier Lugman Omer - Second Commander of the People's Defence Forces. 
12. Hamid Al-Aghbash - the National Assembly. 
13. Dr. Mohamed Al-Bakhit Al-Bashir - the Islamic Figih Council. 
14. Al-Saddiq Abdul-Majid Al-Makkawi - the People's Defence Forces. 
15. Awadal-Karim Siral-Khatim - Deputy Coordinator of the People's Defence Forces. 
16. Waeez Salaha Omer - Headquarters of the People's Defence Forces. 
17. Omer Mahjoub Ahmed - Deputy Coordinator of the People's Defence Forces. 
18. Salah-Eddin Mustafa - the People's Defence Forces - Jabal Aulia Locality. 
19. Abdul-Azim Hamza - the National Congress - Khartoum State. 
20. Abdul-Atti Ahmed - Correspondent of the National Television. 
21. Al-Sheikh Abdul-Rahim - the media mission. 
22. Bashir Fadl Al-Sid - Khartoum State Media. 
23. Abdul-Hai Al-Rabie - the media mission. 
24. Ismail Abdul-Karim - the media mission. 
25. Captain Saif-Eddin - Director of Office of Maj. Gen. Abu-Guroon. 
26. Al-Sayer Mohamed Al-Sayer - the Ministry of Guidance and Endowments. 

27 /28/ 29/ 30/ 31/ 32 - the crew of the plane.

Source [SUNA Sudan] 

►UPDATE: The authorities revealed that the crew of the ill-fated plane was comprised of four Russian pilots, a Sudanese pilot called Abdel Moniem and two female Sudanese stewards. The head of the Sudanese Civil Aviation Corporation (SCAC), Mohammed Abdel Aziz, has resigned as a result of the crash.

In recent years, Sudan has had numerous aviation accidents and incidents that have severely damaged the country's aviation image. Khartoum has frequently complained that its poor record in air safety is largely due to lack of spare parts for its aircraft caused by US Sanctions.

► BOTSWANA: Air Botswana BAe146 suffers substantial engine damage following aborted take off in Gaborone.

On Saturday 11th August 2012, an Air Botswana (BP) Avro RJ85 (MSN# 1160 | A2-ABF) performing flight BP 205 from Gaborone, Botswana to Johannesburg, South Africa with 28 passengers aboard, suffered a #2 engine failure during its take off roll at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport.

The Air Botswana BAe146 'A2-ABF' in happier times  (KeithB)

"During the take-off roll, one of the engines failed and it is reported that it spat out debris. It is the hot debris from the engine that caused a small grass fire adjacent to the runway. The commander of the aircraft, Captain Adam Kereng reported that indications in the flight deck showed a malfunction of the number two engine, and therefore the take-off was aborted in compliance with standard operating procedures for this type of failure.

Once the aircraft had stopped, the passengers were disembarked and taken to the terminal building where they were briefed on the exact nature of the problem, and also on the alternative aircraft that would be made available for them to complete their flights to Johannesburg."

Source [Air Botswana]

Passengers did however complain to the Botswana press after the incident, claiming that they were "made to wait for more than 10 minutes inside the aircraft which continued to produce a cloud of smoke" and subsequently, had "to wait another 40 minutes before a minibus picked them up, as no senior personnel at Air Botswana showed up to address them, except the airhostess who also looked panicky."

Passengers were rebooked onto other flights thereafter whilst the stricken Avro (also known as a Bae 146-100) was towed away to a hangar. Fortunately, the airline is due to receive another BAe146 in coming weeks as part of Air Botswana's fleet renewal plan.

The Botswana Accident Investigations Department at the Ministry of Transport is investigating the accident.