2011 Trans Air Congo Antonov An-12 crash
Antonov An-12 · Loss of control
From Maya-Maya International Airport (BZV) to Antonio Agostinho-Neto International Airport (PNR)
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 23 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- 19
- Occupants
- 4
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- 14 · all on the ground
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Airline
Antonov An-12
- Aircraft type
- Antonov AN-12
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- TN-AGK
- Operator
- Trans Air Congo
- Onboard fatalities
- 4
- Route
- From Maya-Maya International Airport (BZV)To Antonio Agostinho-Neto International Airport (PNR)
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
On 21 March 2011, a non-airworthy Antonov An-12 transport aircraft of Trans Air Congo crashed into a densely populated neighbourhood of Pointe Noire, Republic of the Congo, while on final approach to land. All four occupants of the aircraft and 19 people on the ground were killed. Fourteen more people on the ground were injured.
Accident
The Antonov An-12 was on a domestic cargo flight from Brazzaville to Pointe Noire Airport in the Republic of the Congo. At around 15:30 local time on 21 March (14:30 UTC), while on final approach to the airport's runway 17, the aircraft rolled inverted and crashed to the ground in the Mvoumvou district of Pointe Noire. Weather conditions at the time were reported as good. According to the Russian Embassy, the flight had attempted an emergency ditching in the sea, but was unable to do so.
Four crew members were on board. It was initially reported that five 'illegal' passengers were also on board, but this was later stated not to be the case. The use of the Antonov An-12 for carrying passengers is prohibited in the Republic of the Congo.
There were conflicting reports about the number of dead and injured, with figures of 16, 17, and 19 reported. On 23 March, the Pointe-Noire mayor Roland Bouiti-Viaudo stated that 23 bodies had been recovered to date. The number of injured was 14. On 23 March, Congo's Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile du Congo issued an update stating only four crew were on the aircraft. They were killed, as were 19 on the ground.
A video of the accident shows the Antonov rolling to starboard and nosediving to the ground inverted. In the video, the aircraft appears to be correctly configured for landing, with landing gear and flaps extended, but only engines No. 1 and 2 appear to be operating, trailing the characteristic smoke. A failure of both engines on the same wing for the aircraft type involved could reportedly lead to loss of control, due to the rudder not having sufficient authority to counter the asymmetric thrust.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
A joint committee was set up by the Congolese Government to investigate the accident. Committee members include members of the Government, the police and representatives from the aviation industry in the Republic of the Congo.
Text from the Wikipedia article “2011 Trans Air Congo Antonov An-12 crash” (revision 1359601569, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 2011 Trans Air Congo Antonov An-12 crash
- Revision
- 1359601569 · 2026-06-16 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q4055771
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "2011 Trans Air Congo Antonov An-12 crash" (page 31258679, revision 1359601569)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator is an airline according to Wikidata
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: total_fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: ground fatalities
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.