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| |donga]] that crossed the field caused the plane to pitch over and burst into flame. | |donga]] that crossed the field caused the plane to pitch over and burst into flame. | ||
| Eighteen of the fifty-six passengers survived the crash, with most of these having been seated in the rear. Five of the survivors went to a local village to ask for water. However upon returning, they heard African voices and automatic gunfire - ] guerrillas killed 10 of the survivors before looting the aircraft. Rickard,<ref name=RobRickards>{{cite web | Eighteen of the fifty-six passengers survived the crash, with most of these having been seated in the rear. Five of the survivors went to a local village to ask for water. However upon returning, they heard African voices and automatic gunfire - ] guerrillas killed 10 of the survivors before looting the aircraft. Nell,<ref name=KeithNell/> a member of the Rhodesian SAS who was parachuted into the area the day after the incident recorded that one of the female victimes was raped repeatedly before being murdered, but Rickard,<ref name=RobRickards>{{cite web | ||
| |url = http://home.iprimus.com.au/rob_rickards/viscounts/hunyani.htm | |url = http://home.iprimus.com.au/rob_rickards/viscounts/hunyani.htm | ||
| |title = The Hunyani Disaster | |title = The Hunyani Disaster | ||
| |author = Rob Rickards | |author = Rob Rickards | ||
| |work = Viscounts in Africa - The Air Rhodesia story | |work = Viscounts in Africa - The Air Rhodesia story | ||
| |accessdate = 2010-10-09}}</ref> a former Air Zimbabwe pilot claims that the |
|accessdate = 2010-10-09}}</ref> a former Air Zimbabwe pilot claims that the rape incident was invented by the "sensationalistic Jo'burg papers". Three crash survivors who initially remained at the aircraft managed to avoid being killed by running away and hiding in the bush. | ||
| ] said in a ] interview that his guerrillas had shot the aircraft down,<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=]|date=September 18, 1978|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,916377,00.html|title=Seeds of Political Destruction}}</ref> saying that it was being used for military purposes, but denied killing the survivors. Five days after the disaster, the Rhodesian government confirmed that the plane had been shot down by a ] missile. | ] said in a ] interview that his guerrillas had shot the aircraft down,<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=]|date=September 18, 1978|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,916377,00.html|title=Seeds of Political Destruction}}</ref> saying that it was being used for military purposes, but denied killing the survivors. Five days after the disaster, the Rhodesian government confirmed that the plane had been shot down by a ] missile. | ||
Revision as of 09:58, 31 October 2010
| Occurrence | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 3, 1978 |
| Summary | Civilian airliner shoot-down |
| Site | West of Karoi 16°47′S 29°5′E / 16.783°S 29.083°E / -16.783; 29.083 |
| Aircraft type | Vickers Viscount |
| Operator | Air Rhodesia |
| Registration | VP-WAS (formerly EP-AHA) |
| Flight origin | Salisbury, Rhodesia |
| Last stopover | Kariba, Rhodesia |
| Destination | Salisbury, Rhodesia |
| Passengers | 52 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 48 (38 in crash followed by the murder of 10 at the crash site) |
| Survivors | 8 |
Air Rhodesia Flight 825 was a scheduled flight from Kariba, Rhodesia to Salisbury, Rhodesia that was shot down on September 3, 1978 by ZIPRA guerillas using a SA-7 surface-to-air missile
Incident
The Vickers Viscount aircraft named The Hunyani was operating a scheduled service between Kariba and Salisbury. Five minutes after taking off from Kariba, passengers heard a loud bang from one of the starboard engines. At 5:10pm the commander, Captain John Hood, sent a distress call to air traffic control informing them that he had lost both starboard engines, and was going to crash. The explosion ruptured fuel and pressurized hydraulic lines, causing a fire that could not be extinguished.
class=notpageimage| Air Rhodesia Flight RH825 crash site
Captain Hood managed to maintain control of the aircraft as it descended, and aimed it for a cotton field in the bush, west of Karoi in the Whamira Hills. The pilots attempted to belly-land the aircraft and told the passengers to brace for impact; seconds later, the fuselage and wings started scraping against the tops of trees. The landing initially looked like it would succeed, but a 4-metre (13 ft) wide [[Donga (ditch) |donga]] that crossed the field caused the plane to pitch over and burst into flame.
Eighteen of the fifty-six passengers survived the crash, with most of these having been seated in the rear. Five of the survivors went to a local village to ask for water. However upon returning, they heard African voices and automatic gunfire - ZIPRA guerrillas killed 10 of the survivors before looting the aircraft. Nell, a member of the Rhodesian SAS who was parachuted into the area the day after the incident recorded that one of the female victimes was raped repeatedly before being murdered, but Rickard, a former Air Zimbabwe pilot claims that the rape incident was invented by the "sensationalistic Jo'burg papers". Three crash survivors who initially remained at the aircraft managed to avoid being killed by running away and hiding in the bush.
Joshua Nkomo said in a BBC interview that his guerrillas had shot the aircraft down, saying that it was being used for military purposes, but denied killing the survivors. Five days after the disaster, the Rhodesian government confirmed that the plane had been shot down by a Strela 2 missile.
Air Rhodesia Flight RH827
Main article: Air Rhodesia Flight RH827Air Rhodesia Flight RH827, Umniati, was another scheduled flight between Kariba and Salisbury that was shot down on 12 February 1979 by ZIPRA guerrillas using a Strela 2 missile in similar circumstances to Air Rhodesia Flight 825. The aircraft turned into a fireball in the sky and crashed into a ravine. All 59 aboard were killed.
See also
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References
- "Air Rhodesia- Accident & incidents". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - "Lead Article". The Times. 1978-09-06.
- ^ Keith Nell. "The Rhodesian Viscount Disasters". Retrieved 2010-09-16.
- Rob Rickards. "The Hunyani Disaster". Viscounts in Africa - The Air Rhodesia story. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
- "Seeds of Political Destruction". Time Magazine. September 18, 1978.
- Rob Rickards. "The Viscount Disasters - The Story". Viscounts in Africa - The Air Rhodesia story. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
External links
- The Hunyani Disaster
- Photograph of the aircraft at Airliners.net