2014 Algerian Air Force C-130 crash

2014 Algeria C-130 crash

An Algerian Air Force C-130, similar to the aircraft involved in the crash
Accident summary
Date 11 February 2014
Summary Under investigation
Site Near Aïn Kercha, Oum El Bouaghi Province, Algeria
Passengers 74
Crew 4[1]
Fatalities 77[1]
Injuries (non-fatal) 1[1]
Survivors 1
Aircraft type Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Operator Algerian Air Force
Registration 7T-WHM
Flight origin Tamanrasset, Algeria
Stopover Ouargla, Algeria
Destination Constantine, Algeria

On 11 February 2014, an Algerian Air Force Lockheed C-130H-30 Hercules aircraft crashed into Djebel Fertas mountain near Aïn Kercha, Oum El Bouaghi Province, Algeria;[2][3] with 74 passengers and 4 crew on board. Seventy-seven bodies were discovered at the site, along with one survivor.[1][4]

Preliminary reports suggest that bad weather conditions might have caused the crash.[5][6] Eyewitness accounts describe the aircraft clipping a mountain before crashing.[6] This was the first reported air disaster in Algeria since the 2003 crash of Air Algérie Flight 6289.[1] The accident is undergoing investigation.

Aircraft

The aircraft was a US-manufactured C-130 Hercules with the registration number 7T-WHM. Lockheed Martin confirmed it sold C-130H aircraft to Algeria from 1981 to 1990. As of 2011, Algeria had 16 of the type according to FlightGlobal.[7]

Weather conditions

Algerian defence ministry said the crash was likely caused by bad weather,[8] including a storm and cascading snow, which Algerian aviation experts said most likely had led to poor visibility.[1]

According to AccuWeather, at the time of the crash "an area of low pressure moving through the region was producing widespread showers mixed with snow in the higher terrain of the area"; meteorologist Eric Leister added that, "along with the rain and snow, wind gusts more than 30 mph (48 km/h) were reported in several locations in the region".[9]

Crash

An Algerian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft crashed into Djebel Fertas mountain near Aïn Kercha, Oum El Bouaghi Province,[2] killing 77 people and leaving one survivor.[1] The passengers included soldiers and members of their families.[2] Contact with the aircraft was reportedly lost between Constantine and Oum El Bouaghi just before noon and air traffic controllers dispatched helicopters to search for it.[10] The sole survivor, a soldier, was taken to a military hospital in Constantine due to injuries from head trauma.[11] The initial casualty count indicated 103 deaths,[12] but was later revised by the government manifest list.

Investigation

Recovery teams located one of the two flight recorders, according to El Watan. Emergency services had recovered 76 bodies from the site.[11]

Reaction

Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced three days of state mourning starting 12 February,[8] while also praising the dead soldiers as "martyrs".[11] The defence ministry said it had established an investigative commission and that army chief of staff and deputy defence minister Ahmed Gaid Salah would visit the crash site.[8]

See also

References

Coordinates: 36°00′42″N 6°41′10″E / 36.0118°N 6.6862°E / 36.0118; 6.6862

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