| 2009 Aéro-Frêt Antonov An-12 crash | |
| Occurrence Type: | Accident |
| Date: | 26 August 2009 |
| Type: | In-flight fire and mid-air break up |
| Aircraft Type: | Antonov An-12BK[1] |
| Operator: | Aéro-Frêt |
| Tail Number: | TN-AIA |
| Origin: | Pointe Noire Airport |
| Destination: | Maya-Maya Airport, Brazzaville |
| Occupants: | 6 |
| Passengers: | 1 |
| Crew: | 5 |
| Fatalities: | 6 |
| Survivors: | 0 |
On 26 August 2009, an Antonov An-12 crashed into a cemetery near Brazzaville, Congo.
The aircraft involved was an 43 year-old Antonov An-12BK of Aéro-Frêt, manufactured in 1966 and registered as TN-AIA.[2] [3]
The aircraft departed from Brazzaville Maya-Maya International Airport bound for Pointe Noire Airport carrying food, a minibus and three other vehicles. Attempting to land on Runway 05, the aircraft crashed into a cemetery 11km (07miles) southeast of Maya-Maya airport at Nganga Lingolo, a town on the outskirts of Brazzaville, at 06:00 local time (05:00 UTC). All 5 Ukrainian crew members and the Congolese passenger died on impact.[2] The METAR in force at the time of the accident showed that there was a mild wind of 270° at 6kn, visibility was 7km (04miles), there were scattered clouds at 1600feet and it was overcast at 13000feet, and the temperature was 21°C.[4] At the time of the accident, it was there was a light rain and visibility was 3.5km (02.2miles).[1] Eyewitnesses reported that one of the wings was on fire before the crash, and that the aircraft broke up in mid-air. The carriage of the passenger was illegal, as the Republic of the Congo bans AN-12s from use as passenger aircraft.
The accident was investigated by the Congolese National Agency for Civil Aviation.[5]