TAAG Boeing 737-2M2 plane crash
M'Banza Congo, Angola
Updated on
The Boeing 737 plane carrying 79 passengers crashed and broke in half when it landed at an airport in M'banza Congo. 5 people were killed, and several
injured.
The plane belonging to Angola's state TAAG airline was en route from Luanda to M'Banza Congo, which is in northern Angola near the border with the
Democratic Republic of Congo, 300 kilometers (180 miles) north of the capital, Luanda.
The aircraft's landing gear appeared to give way as the plane touched down halfway down the runway: two tires were punctured. The crew lost control,
bounced, a wing tip hit the ground and the plane crashed into a small brick house built on grassy land next to the runway. The aircraft's front section
broke off from the fuselage and came to rest about 50 meters away from the rest of the plane.
In Africa, rural airports often have dwellings next to the runway, and pedestrians and livestock can cross the tarmac. The M'banza Congo airport has no air
traffic control tower.