1993 Zambia national football team air disaster: Difference between revisions

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==Accident==
==Accident==
[[File:Gabon Air Disaster.png|thumb|left|300px|Flight route]]The flight had been specially arranged by the Zambian Air Force for the football team. The journey was scheduled to make three refuelling stops; the first at Brazzaville, Congo, the second at[Libreville, Gabon, and the third at Abidjan, Ivory Coast.<ref name="asn1">{{cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19930427-2|title=ASN Aircraft accident de Havilland Canada DHC-5D Buffalo AF-319 Atlantic Ocean, off Gabon|work=Aviation Safety Network|publisher=Flight Safety Foundation|accessdate=19 December 2010}}</ref>
[[File:Gabon Air Disaster.png|thumb|left|250px|Flight route]]The flight had been specially arranged by the Zambian Air Force for the football team. The journey was scheduled to make three refuelling stops; the first at Brazzaville, Congo, the second at[Libreville, Gabon, and the third at Abidjan, Ivory Coast.<ref name="asn1">{{cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19930427-2|title=ASN Aircraft accident de Havilland Canada DHC-5D Buffalo AF-319 Atlantic Ocean, off Gabon|work=Aviation Safety Network|publisher=Flight Safety Foundation|accessdate=19 December 2010}}</ref>


At the first stop in Brazzaville engine problems were noted. Despite this, the flight continued and a few minutes after taking off from the second stop in Libreville the left engine caught fire and failed. The pilot, who had also flown the team from a match in Mauritius the previous day, then shut down the right engine, causing the plane to lose all power during the climb out of Libreville Airport and fall into the water {{convert|500|m|yd|abbr=on}} offshore. A Gabonese report released in 2003 attributed the pilot's actions to a faulty warning light and fatigue on the part of the pilot.<ref name="asn1" /><ref name="bbc3">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3247006.stm|title='Faulty plane' killed Zambia team|date=28 November 2003|work=BBC News|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|accessdate=17 December 2010}}</ref><ref name="sportsillustrated1">{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1138563/1/index.htm|title=Triumph On Sacred Ground|last=Montville|first=Leigh|date=18 October 1993|work=Sports Illustrated|publisher=Time Inc.|accessdate=17 December 2010}}</ref>
At the first stop in Brazzaville engine problems were noted. Despite this, the flight continued and a few minutes after taking off from the second stop in Libreville the left engine caught fire and failed. The pilot, who had also flown the team from a match in Mauritius the previous day, then shut down the right engine, causing the plane to lose all power during the climb out of Libreville Airport and fall into the water {{convert|500|m|yd|abbr=on}} offshore. A Gabonese report released in 2003 attributed the pilot's actions to a faulty warning light and fatigue on the part of the pilot.<ref name="asn1" /><ref name="bbc3">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3247006.stm|title='Faulty plane' killed Zambia team|date=28 November 2003|work=BBC News|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|accessdate=17 December 2010}}</ref><ref name="sportsillustrated1">{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1138563/1/index.htm|title=Triumph On Sacred Ground|last=Montville|first=Leigh|date=18 October 1993|work=Sports Illustrated|publisher=Time Inc.|accessdate=17 December 2010}}</ref>