Specifically, ATC agency Windhoek did not receive a flight plan or a departure message on GAF 074, which could have been used by the controllers to identify the conflict so they could have advised REACH 4201. Routing of messages to affected air traffic control agencies is not direct and is convoluted, creating unnecessary delays and unfortunate misroutings. If ATC agency Luanda was unable to contact GAF 074, it should have used other communication means (HF radio, telefax or telephone) to contact REACH 4201 through ATC agency Windhoek, as outlined in governing documents.Īnother substantially contributing factor was the complicated and sporadic operation of the Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunications Network (AFTN). While ATC communications could be improved, ATC agency û Luanda did have all the pertinent information it needed to provide critical advisories to both aircraft. The appropriate cruise level would have been FL290, F元30, F元70, FL410, etc.Ī substantially contributing factor was ATC agency Luanda's poor management of air traffic through its airspace. Neither F元50 nor F元90 were the correct cruise levels for that aircraft's magnetic heading according to International Civil Aviation Organization regulations. PROBABLE CAUSE: "The primary cause of this accident, in my opinion, was GAF 074 flying a cruise level (F元50) which was not the level they had filed for (F元90). Luanda ATC did receive flight plans for both aircraft but a departure message for only REACH 4201.Īt 15:10 UTC both aircraft collided at F元50 and crashed into the sea. Luanda ATC was in radio contact with GAF074, but they were not in radio contact with REACH 4201. Windhoek ATC was in sole and continuous radio contact with REACH 4201, with no knowledge of GAF 074's movement. REACH 4201 took off from Windhoek at 14:11 UTC and climbed to its filed for and assigned cruise level of 35,000 feet (F元50).Īt the same time, GAF074 was not at its filed for cruise level of F元90 but was still at its initially assigned cruise level F元50. GAF074 departed Niamey, Niger at 10:35 UTC. via Georgetown on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean. The C-141B, (65-9405), call sign REACH 4201, had delivered UN humanitarian supplies to Windhoek and was returning to the U.S. On board were ten crew members and 14 passengers. En route refueling stops were planned at Niamey, Niger and Windhoek, Namibia. The Tupolev 154M (11+02), call sign GAF074, operated on a flight from Cologne/Bonn Airport in Germany to Kaapstad, South Africa. Both aircraft crashed, killing all 33 occupants. Some 65 nautical miles west off the Namibian coast, a US Air Force Lockheed C-141B Starlifter collided with a German Air Force Tupolev 154M in mid-air. Windhoek-Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH/FYWH), Namibia Accident investigation report completed and information capturedġ20 km (75 Meilen) W vom Land entfernt von Namibia ( Atlantischer Ozean)
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