Up to 130 fall from cargo plane over Congo

DeutschePresse via Bloomberg no url | 5/9/3

[NativeNewYorker]

   Nairobi/Kinshasa (dpa) - As many as 130 passengers were feared dead

after they fell out of a cargo plane mid-flight over the Democratic

Republic of Congo, Congolese officials said Friday. 

   Officials at Ndjili International Airport in Kinshasa said at least

120 people were on board the Soviet-era aircraft when the ramp that

formed the rear doors opened at an altitude of 2,200 metres late

Thursday. 

   Only the Russian crew members sitting in the sealed cockpit

survived the accident which happened some 45 minutes after takeoff. 

   The four-engine Ilyushin-76 plane had been charted by the Congolese

military for a flight to Lubumbashi, the second-largest city in the

country where there is a large military presence, and was transporting

both military and civilian passengers, a military spokesman said in

Kinshasa. 

   ''The door opened after the hydraulic system failed'' shortly after

takeoff, said the spokesman in Kinshasa. ''All passengers were sucked

out of the plane,'' after which the pilot turned the plane around and

landed in Kinshasa, he said. 

   The news was not made public until Friday when officials began

informing relatives of those on board. It is still unclear how many

civilians were on board. 

   The Congolese government has released few details about the

accident. The official responsible for peace negotiations, Vital

Kamere, confirmed that the ramp of the aircraft opened when the plane

was in the air. 

   Professor Cord Rossow of the Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow

Technology at the German Aerospace Centre in Braunschweig said the

passengers would have simply slipped out of the open cargo hold. 

   He told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa the passengers were probably

not sucked out of the plane as the difference in air pressure was not

crucial at that altitude. 

   After the hatch opened, the pilot apparently tried to stabilize the

aircraft by tilting the front upwards. 

   ''Combined with turbulence and panic, this may have led to the

people falling out of the plane,'' he said, adding that the cargo

plane had no firmly attached seats that people could have grabbed hold

of. 

   The skies over Africa are frequently plied by old aircraft, many of

them propeller-driven craft made in the former Soviet Union.

[NativeNewYorker]

Didn't see this posted.

[MEG33]

Horrible!

[Paraclete]

Must have been quite a scene.

[Frank_Discussion]

Difference between a Car Wreck and a Skydiving Accident:

Car Wreck: WHAM! "Crap!"
Skydiving: "Crap." WHAM!

Seriously, prayer to the victims and families. This is pretty bad.

[bootless]

I know ... really horrible. Here is the ongoing thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/908492/posts

[meandog]

Question: Why do third world countries keep buying old Russian-made junk? Cheap?

[deport]

Other comments at this post .. if anyone is interested

[Wolverine]

A new form of Russian 'catch and release.'

[Paleo Conservative]

Question: Why do third world countries keep buying old Russian-made junk? Cheap?

Also why so many passengers in a military cargo plane? They could have chartered a civilian passenger plane instead. Unless you are deploying paratroops or transporting cargoes to remote airstrips with little cargo handling equipment, why use a military cargo plane?

[ALASKA]

I wonder if we could borrow the plane for Saddam-transport should he be found alive.

[Cicero]

Aren't Belgium and the UN supervising the ongoing murderous mess in the Congo?

What kind of a political reaction would there be if 130 Iraqis fell out of an American cargo plane over Iraq?

[Frank_Discussion]

It is a heavy hauler. Perhaps it was carrying the 130 people and their "stuff", hence taking up a lot of space. And the fact that it could be rented at all indicates that it wasn't being generally used as a military plane.

This aircraft is often used for such work, despite its military lineage.

[AdamSelene235]

. ''All passengers were sucked out of the plane,

The pressure difference isn't that big. I'm skeptical that these people were "sucked" out.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

Mass Arkancide male drop? Anyone see a sax around the locale.

[Frank_Discussion]

What are you suggesting?

(BTW, I like your handle!)

[AdamSelene235]

120 people were on board the Soviet-era aircraft when the ramp that formed the rear doors opened at an altitude of 2,200 metres late

''All passengers were sucked out of the plane,''

You can open the door in an airplane at 2,200 meters without any adverse effects.

This article is complete BS. These people weren't "sucked out".

[AdamSelene235]

What are you suggesting?

Sounds like murder to me.

I heard this story on NPR this morning and immediately knew something wasn't right.

[Frank_Discussion]

By whom for what reason?

[Consort]

The Congolese are testing thier new tractor beam.