Incident Overview
Date: Sunday 3 September 1978
Aircraft Type: Vickers 782D Viscount
Owner/operator: Air Rhodesia
Registration Number: VP-WAS
Location: Whamira Hills –
ÿ Zimbabwe
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 38 / Occupants: 56
Component Affected: Starboard wingStarboard wing
Category: Unlawful Interference
On September 1, 1973, an Air Rhodesia Viscount, ‘Hunyani’, crashed in the bush near Kariba Airport after takeoff. The aircraft sustained damage from a 9K32 Strela-2 shoulder-fired missile, triggering an emergency descent and subsequent crash landing. The impact resulted in significant damage to the aircraft, including fire and breaking up.On September 1, 1973, an Air Rhodesia Viscount, ‘Hunyani’, crashed in the bush near Kariba Airport after takeoff. The aircraft sustained damage from a 9K32 Strela-2 shoulder-fired missile, triggering an emergency descent and subsequent crash landing. The impact resulted in significant damage to the aircraft, including fire and breaking up.
Description
An Air Rhodesia Viscount, named “Hunyani”, took off from Kariba Airport at 17:10. Shortly after departing Kariba, the starboard wing was hit by a 9K32 Strela-2 shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile (also known as SA-7). An emergency descent was carried out and the crew tried to make an emergency landing in a large clearing in the bush. The aircraft crash-landed, striking an irrigation ditch, cart-wheeled, broke up and caught fire. Fighters from the Zimbabwe Peoples Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), also responsible for shooting down the airliner, later killed 10 of the 18 survivors. The rest of the survivors were rescued the next day.
Primary Cause
A 9K32 Strela-2 shoulder-fired missile strike.A 9K32 Strela-2 shoulder-fired missile strike.Share on:
