Incident Overview
Date: Thursday 8 December 1988
Aircraft Type: Douglas DC-7CF
Owner/operator: US Agency for International Development, opb T & G Aviation
Registration Number: N284
Location: Western Sahara –
ÿ Western Sahara
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
Component Affected: The DC-7 aircraft’s engines and wing.The DC-7 aircraft’s engines and wing.
Category: Unlawful Interference
Two T&G Aviation DC-7 aircraft were struck by 9K32 Strela-2 shoulder-fired missiles by the Polisario forces while flying from Senegal to Morocco for a locust control mission. The aircraft crashed in Sidi Ifni, Morocco, due to damage sustained from the missiles.Two T&G Aviation DC-7 aircraft were struck by 9K32 Strela-2 shoulder-fired missiles by the Polisario forces while flying from Senegal to Morocco for a locust control mission. The aircraft crashed in Sidi Ifni, Morocco, due to damage sustained from the missiles.
Description
Two T&G Aviation DC-7 planes were to be flown from Senegal to Morocco for a locust control mission there. Both aircraft were following their flight plan on airway Red 975 at an altitude of 11,000 feet and were flying 1.5 miles apart. Both aircraft were attacked and hit by 9K32 Strela-2 shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missiles (also known as SA-7) fired by the Polisario. The lead aircraft (N284) lost one of its engines and part of a wing and crashed. The second aircraft (N90804) lost an engine and suffered other damage, but it was able to land at Sidi Ifni, on the Moroccan coast. Polisario soldiers thought the DC-7s were Moroccan military C-130 aircraft.
Primary Cause
The Polisario forces fired shoulder-fired missiles at the DC-7 aircraft.The Polisario forces fired shoulder-fired missiles at the DC-7 aircraft.Share on:
