2009 Aerolift Ilyushin Il-76 crash

Investigation

Ugandan authorities launched an investigation into the crash, and on 13 January 2010 finished its final report on it. The report stated that the investigators did not have sufficient evidence, since a large part of the wreckage and both flight recorders weren't recovered, to establish a certain cause for the crash, but that a highly plausible hypothesis could be made. The investigators hypothesised that the aircraft had a loss of engine power during take off, as it was confirmed by ground witnesses and supported by previous occurrences involving the aircrat, like an incident occurred in December 2008 in which the Il-76 lost engine power also taking off from Entebbe International Airport. After that previous incident the airplane remained grounded in Uganda for two weeks, but local aviation authorities didn't perform any repairs due to the lack of technicians trained for Soviet-made aircraft. The report also noted that the pilots had very little rest the night before the flight, that night they also drunk a lot, and were probably still under the effect of alcohol during the flight. This mix of tiredness, drunkness and overwork, since there wasn't any radio operator on board, which is needed in the Il-76 cockpit, made the crew mishandle the engine problem, leading to the crash. The aircraft was also being used beyond its maximum amount of flight cycles without any modification, substitution or repair.