Maputo - Luanda

Aircraft left Maputo Airport at 1126LT on flight LAM470 to Luanda, Angola. En route, while overflying Botswana and Namibia, aircraft encountered bad weather conditions with CB's at high altitude and turbulence. In unknown circumstances, aircraft went out of control and disappeared from radar screens at 1230LT, most probably after diving into the ground. As the aircraft did not arrive at Luanda, SAR commenced but were suspended by night due to low visibility and bad weather conditions (heavy rain falls). The day after, on 30NOV, Namibia Police forces announced they located the wreckage in the Bwabwata National Park, near Divundu. Aircraft was completely destroyed by impact forces and post impact fire. All 33 occupants were killed, among them 16 Mozambicans, 9 Angolans, 5 Portuguese, one French, one Brazilian and one Chinese. The aircraft crashed in a dense wooded and isolated area, sot SAR are difficult. No distress call was sent by the crew.

Flight / Schedule

Maputo - Luanda

Aircraft

Embraer ERJ-190

Registration

C9-EMC

MSN

190-00581

Year of Manufacture

2012

Date

November 29, 2013 at 12:30 PM

Type

CRASH

Flight Type

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Flight Phase

Flight

Crash Site

Plain, Valley

Crash Location

Divundu Kavango Region

Region

Africa • Namibia

Coordinates

-18.0993°, 21.5488°

Crash Cause

Human factor

Narrative Report

On November 29, 2013 at 12:30 PM, Maputo - Luanda experienced a crash involving Embraer ERJ-190, operated by Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique - LAM, with the event recorded near Divundu Kavango Region.

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was flight at a plain, valley crash site.

33 people were known to be on board, 33 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 6, passengers on board: 27, passenger fatalities: 27, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. Aircraft left Maputo Airport at 1126LT on flight LAM470 to Luanda, Angola. En route, while overflying Botswana and Namibia, aircraft encountered bad weather conditions with CB's at high altitude and turbulence. In unknown circumstances, aircraft went out of control and disappeared from radar screens at 1230LT, most probably after diving into the ground. As the aircraft did not arrive at Luanda, SAR commenced but were suspended by night due to low visibility and bad weather conditions (heavy rain falls). The day after, on 30NOV, Namibia Police forces announced they located the wreckage in the Bwabwata National Park, near Divundu. Aircraft was completely destroyed by impact forces and post impact fire. All 33 occupants were killed, among them 16 Mozambicans, 9 Angolans, 5 Portuguese, one French, one Brazilian and one Chinese. The aircraft crashed in a dense wooded and isolated area, sot SAR are difficult. No distress call was sent by the crew.

Aircraft reference details include registration C9-EMC, MSN 190-00581, year of manufacture 2012.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately -18.0993°, 21.5488°.

Fatalities

Total

33

Crew

6

Passengers

27

Other

0

Crash Summary

Aircraft left Maputo Airport at 1126LT on flight LAM470 to Luanda, Angola. En route, while overflying Botswana and Namibia, aircraft encountered bad weather conditions with CB's at high altitude and turbulence. In unknown circumstances, aircraft went out of control and disappeared from radar screens at 1230LT, most probably after diving into the ground. As the aircraft did not arrive at Luanda, SAR commenced but were suspended by night due to low visibility and bad weather conditions (heavy rain falls). The day after, on 30NOV, Namibia Police forces announced they located the wreckage in the Bwabwata National Park, near Divundu. Aircraft was completely destroyed by impact forces and post impact fire. All 33 occupants were killed, among them 16 Mozambicans, 9 Angolans, 5 Portuguese, one French, one Brazilian and one Chinese. The aircraft crashed in a dense wooded and isolated area, sot SAR are difficult. No distress call was sent by the crew.

Cause: Human factor

Occupants & Outcome

Crew On Board

6

Passengers On Board

27

Estimated Survivors

0

Fatality Rate

100.0%

Known people on board: 33

Operational Details

Schedule / Flight

Maputo - Luanda

Flight Type

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Flight Phase

Flight

Crash Site

Plain, Valley

Region / Country

Africa • Namibia

Aircraft Details

Aircraft

Embraer ERJ-190

Registration

C9-EMC

MSN

190-00581

Year of Manufacture

2012

Similar Plane Crashes

January 23, 1935 at 12:00 AM

Private South African

De Havilland DH.80 Puss Moth

Crashed on landing at Karibib Airport. The pilot was slightly injured while the aircraft was destroyed by post crash fire. The aircraft was just bought by Mr. Weissner few days prior to the accident.

April 20, 1968 at 08:50 PM123 Fatalities

South African Airways -SAA - Suid Afrikaanse Lugdiens - SAL

Boeing 707

A Boeing 707-344C passenger jet, registered ZS-EUW, was destroyed in an accident near Windhoek-Strijdom International Airport, Namibia. The aircraft was operating on South African Airways' flight SA228 from Johannesburg to London via Windhoek, Luanda, Las Palmas and Frankfurt. The first leg of the flight was uneventful. Local weather conditions at Windhoek were fine: there was no cloud and no wind. The night was particularly dark as there was no moon and the horizon was indistinct. At 20:49 the aircraft took off from Windhoek runway 08 into conditions of complete darkness. The aircraft climbed to a height of about 650 feet above ground level. It leveled off and began to descend. Thirty seconds later, the aircraft flew into the ground at a point some 5,327 metres from the end of the runway. The level of the ground at the point of impact was 179 feet below the airport elevation or approximately 100 feet below the point of lift-off. The impact occurred at a ground speed of approximately 271 knots. The initial impact was in a slightly left-wing-down attitude. The fuselage and each of the 4 engine pods gouged deep trenches in the ground and the aircraft then began to break up as its momentum carried it onward. Wreckage was strewn over an area some 1,400 metres long and some 200 metres wide, and 2 separate fires broke out, presumably through the ignition of fuel on impact. Five passengers were seriously injured while 123 other occupants were killed.

August 16, 1978 at 12:00 AM

Suidwes Lugdiens - South West Airways

Cessna 402

While taking off from runway 03/21 at Opuwo Airstrip, the twin engine airplane stalled and crashed. All three occupants were injured and the airplane was written off.

March 25, 1980 at 12:00 AM3 Fatalities

South African Air Force

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Crashed in unknown circumstances somewhere in Namibia, killing all three crew members.

March 28, 1983 at 12:00 AM

Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique - LAM

Boeing 737-200

The approach to Quelimane Airport was initiated by night. On final, the pilot-in-command reduced engine power to idle. At a height of 230 feet, as the airspeed dropped below the speed reference, the stick shaker activated. The captain increased engine power when the aircraft lost height and descended until it struck the ground about 400 meters short of runway. The undercarriage were torn off and the airplane slid for few dozen meters before coming to rest. All 110 occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

September 7, 1984 at 12:00 AM

Wonderair

Fairchild F27

While taxiing at Omega AFB, the aircraft caught fire for unknown reasons. The crew was able to stop the airplane and to evacuate before it would be totally destroyed by fire.