View source for 2007 Mogadishu TransAVIAexport Airlines Il-76 crash

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
|image           = Trans Avia Export Ilyushin Il-76TD EW-78849 MES 2005-1-21.png
| image_upright  = 1.15
|caption         = EW-78849, the aircraft involved in the accident, at [[Polonia International Airport]] in 2005.
|Name            = 2007 Mogadishu TransAVIAexport Airlines Il-76 crash
|Date            = {{start date|2007|3|23|df=yes}}
|Type            = Suspected shootdown
|Site            = [[Mogadishu]]
|aircraft_type   = [[Ilyushin Il-76TD]]
|Operator        = [[TransAVIAexport Airlines]]
|occupants = 11 
|tail_number     = EW-78849
|Passengers      = 4
|Crew            = 7
|Fatalities      = 11
|Survivors       = 0
}}

On 23 March 2007, a Belarusian [[Ilyushin Il-76]] cargo aircraft operated by TransAVIAexport Airlines crashed in the outskirts of [[Mogadishu]], [[Somalia]], during the [[Battle of Mogadishu (March – April 2007)|Battle of Mogadishu]]. The plane was carrying repair equipment and [[humanitarian aid]]. According to a spokesperson for the transport ministry of [[Belarus]], the aircraft was shot down. However, the [[Transitional Federal Government|Somali government]] insisted that the crash was accidental.<ref name="crew-passenger balance"/> A crew of eleven on board the aircraft perished in the accident.

== Background ==
=== Previous occurrence ===
[[File:Ilyushin Il-76TD EW-78826 FRA 2006-5-10.png|thumb|EW-78826, an Ilyushin Il-76TD belonging to TransAVIAexport and leased to Galaxy AIR FCZ, a [[UAE]] air freight company, was the target of an attack in {{start date|df=yes|2007|3}}, in Somalia. It was ruled by a [[Minsk]] court that, by sending the aircraft to a conflict zone and not informing this to the lessor, the leasing contract was violated. Galaxy AIR had to pay over {{US$|1|link=yes}} million for the damages experienced by the aircraft.{{cn|date=May 2023}}]]
On 9 March 2007, a Transaviaexport Ilyushin Il-76TD, [[Aircraft registration|registration]] EW-78826, that was about to complete an [[Entebbe]]–[[Mogadishu]] flight carrying Ugandan [[Peacekeeping|peacekeeper]]s and equipment,<ref name="ic_news_124_268568" /><ref>{{ASN accident|type= Incident|title= EW-78826|id= 20070309-0}}</ref> made a successful emergency landing at [[Mogadishu International Airport]] after having been struck by a [[rocket propelled grenade]] and catching fire on approach to the airport of destination.<ref name="Rocket hit Belarussian aid plane in Somalia" /> The rocket had apparently been fired from a boat while the plane passed over it at a height of {{convert|150|m}}.<ref name="Uganda: 'UPDF Somalia Mission Plane Was Shot At'" /> A crew of nine Belarusians were aboard the aircraft, along with six [[Uganda People's Defence Force|UPDF]] soldiers;<ref name="Uganda: 'UPDF Somalia Mission Plane Was Shot At'" /> all were unharmed. [[Islamist]] militia claimed the attack, saying that [[African Union]] peacekeepers were their target, as they were seen as invading troops; Somali officials denied any such attack, and said the incident was due to the aircraft experiencing a technical failure.<ref name="Rocket hit Belarussian aid plane in Somalia" />

There had been a report with unverified claims circulating on the internet stating that the aircraft had actually been carrying a secret load of [[infantry fighting vehicle]]s for Ugandan troops. This report also claimed that these vehicles saved all occupants on board.<ref name="Belarusian Plane in Somalia was transporting armaments?" />

=== Aircraft and crew ===

The aircraft involved was an Ilyushin Il-76, a large Russian-built cargo aircraft. Registered as EW-78849,<ref name="ASN"/> the Il-76 had been on a chartered cargo flight carrying equipment to Ugandan [[African Union Mission to Somalia|AMISOM]] peacekeepers in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.<ref name="Cargo Plane Shot Down in Somalia" /> All of the crew members were Belarusian.<ref name="ic_news_124_268568" /> Four of the personnel on board the accident aircraft were engineers who had worked on repairing another aircraft of the same type that had been the subject of an attempted shootdown 14 days earlier.<ref name="crew-passenger balance">[http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,9294,2-11-1447_2088413,00.html 'Somali plane was shot down'] – News24.com – Obtained 25 March 2007.  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930205849/http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0%2C9294%2C2-11-1447_2088413%2C00.html |date=30 September 2007 }}</ref><ref name="Accidents/incidents for 2007" /> Much of the equipment on board EW-78849 was for repairing the aircraft damaged earlier;{{cn|date=August 2021}} the rest of the cargo was humanitarian aid.<ref name="The Independent">{{cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2390823.ece |location=London |work=The Independent |title=Missile 'brought down aid flight' with no survivors |date=25 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930193849/http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2390823.ece |archive-date=30 September 2007 }}</ref> The first aircraft was still crippled at the departure time of EW-78849, and TransAVIAexport were considering whether to cannibalise it for re-usable parts.<ref name="ASN">{{ASN accident|id= 20070323-0|title= EW-78849}}</ref>

== Accident ==
EW-78849 was due to fly back to [[Belarus]] carrying equipment used for the repairs of EW-78826.<ref name="ic_news_124_268568" /> The flight plan included a refuelling stop at [[Djibouti (city)|Djibouti]].<ref name="ASN" /> Bound for [[Minsk]], the aircraft had [[takeoff|taken off]] from [[Mogadishu International Airport]] at 14:00 local time.<ref name="ic_news_124_268568" /> According to Somali Interior Minister Mohamed Mahamud Guled, as soon as it reached {{convert|10000|ft}} altitude, the pilot reported a problem in engine number two, stating that he would turn back to the airport.<ref name="Cargo Plane Shot Down in Somalia"/> He was in the process of attempting to return to the airport for an emergency landing<ref name="shabelle">{{cite news|title=Somalia: Further details on Mogadishu plane crash |url=http://www.shabelle.net/news/ne2614.htm |publisher=Shabelle Media Network |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070706134216/http://www.shabelle.net/news/ne2614.htm |archive-date=6 July 2007 }}</ref> when one wing exploded,<ref name="Alaska">{{cite news |title= Plane crashes in Mogadishu, Somalia |url= http://www.alaskareport.com/z45560.htm |publisher=AlaskaReport News}}</ref> separated from the aircraft and fell into the Indian Ocean, while the rest of the plane continued, on fire, along the beach at a low altitude before crashing.<ref name="Cargo Plane Shot Down in Somalia"/><ref name="ABC">{{cite news|title='Missile hits plane' in Somalia |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1880381.htm |work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News Online]] |publisher=[[Reuters]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070325222217/http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1880381.htm |archive-date=25 March 2007 }}</ref>

The accident occurred in an area called [[Kuluweyne]],<ref name="The Independent"/> with the main part of the wreckage landing near a farmer's hamlet. A [[Reuters]] reporter who visited the scene reported seeing crushed animals, four corpses still on the ground, and wreckage spread across an area the size of four football fields. Rescuers found ten of the crew members dead at the scene, and an eleventh alive and wandering around the crash site. He was transported to a hospital where he died the same day.<ref name="iht">{{cite news |title= All 11 crew were killed when cargo plane was shot down in Somali capital, officials say |url= http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/24/africa/AF-GEN-Somalia.php |work= [[International Herald Tribune]] |publisher=[[Associated Press]]}}{{Dead link|date=June 2013}}</ref> Operations at the airport were not affected by the crash, with Somali Prime Minister [[Ali Gedi]] and his delegation departing as scheduled from the airport the next day, destined for the [[Arab League]] summit in [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref name="shabelle"/>

===Alleged shootdown===
A civilian who witnessed the crash said he heard what he believed to be a [[surface-to-air missile]] being fired immediately before the accident.<ref name="Cargo Plane Shot Down in Somalia"/> "I saw with my eyes when the plane, which was flying low-level, was hit by a rocket and then fell to the ground," Shabelle reporter Maryan Hashi said.<ref name="ABC"/>" There have been reports that the projectile came from a small boat,<ref name="Missile attack on plane kills 11 Belarusian"/> and others that it came from a nearby farmers' market.<ref name="Somalia: Cargo Plane Shot Down in Mogadishu" /> The plane appears to have been struck by the missile at an altitude of about {{convert|150|m}}.<ref name="Belarus says missile caused Somali plane crash"/>

===Crew===
All eleven occupants on board the aircraft died in the incident.<ref name="Headlines briefing: 3 April 2007" /> Their bodies were transported back to Belarus in a [[Gomelavia]] aircraft on 30 March 2007.<ref>{{cite news|title=Похороны погибшего в Сомали белорусского авиаэкипажа состоятся 2 апреля Читать полностью |language=Belarusian |trans-title=The funeral of the Belarusian crew that died in Somalia will be held on 2 April |publisher=TUT.BY |date=31 March 2007 |url=http://news.tut.by/society/85401.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120005040/http://news.tut.by/society/85401.html |archive-date=20 January 2016 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> On 2 April funeral services were held in Belarus for the victims, with hundreds attending. Eight of the victims were buried in a single lot at [[Maskouskiya]] cemetery, the rest in [[Vitsebsk]].<ref name="Charter"/>

==Reactions and aftermath==
The Somali authorities originally stated that the cause of the crash was unknown, and have since maintained that the crash occurred as a result of an accident, and that it had not been shot down.<ref name="crew-passenger balance"/><ref name="ABC"/> However, while not claiming responsibility for this specific attack, an [[Islamist]] web site published claims that the plane was indeed struck by a missile.<ref name="ABC"/> Within 24 hours of the crash, Belarusian officials confirmed that the plane had been shot down.<ref name="Belarus says missile caused Somali plane crash"/> Somali soldiers began to guard the area against interference.<ref name="The Independent"/> TransAVIAexport suspended all flights to Somalia as a result of the incident,<ref name="no-fly">[http://law.by/work/EnglPortal.nsf/0/1A0845DFC7617331C22572AA00445C38?OpenDocument Transaviaexport suspends flights to Somalia citing war reasons] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928040650/http://law.by/work/EnglPortal.nsf/0/1A0845DFC7617331C22572AA00445C38?OpenDocument |date=28 September 2007 }} – ''The National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus'' – Obtained 23 April 2007.</ref> and Belarus advised its airlines not to enter Somali airspace.<ref name="keep out of Somalia, says Belarus">[http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?menu=1&id_issue=11699071 Belarusian aviation authorities advise airlines not to fly to Somalia]– ''[[Interfax]]'' – Obtained 23 April 2007. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930232023/http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?menu=1&id_issue=11699071 |date=30 September 2007 }}</ref> An investigation was launched by the Belarusian transport prosecutor's office for violations of Article 126 of the Criminal Code, which concerns international terrorism.<ref name="Belarusian Plane in Somalia was transporting armaments?"/>

On 5 April 2007, the [[US Federal Aviation Administration]] released a communication prohibiting [[List of airlines of the United States|US airlines and commercial operators]] from operating over Somali airspace at altitudes below {{convert|26000|ft}}, due to possible threats from [[rocket propelled grenade]]s and [[shoulder-launched missile]]s.<ref name="Somalia manpads scare forces FAA height ban" />

According to the [[Small Arms Survey]] 2008 Yearbook, the aircraft was shot down by one of two [[9K38 Igla]]s fired by [[Al-Shabaab (militant group)|al-Shabaab]].<ref name ='SAS 2008 1'>{{cite book|url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/publications/by-type/yearbook/small-arms-survey-2008.html|chapter-url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2008/en/Small-Arms-Survey-2008-Chapter-01-EN.pdf|chapter=Light Weapons: Products, Producers, and Proliferation|title=Small Arms Survey 2008: Risk and Resilience|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2008|author=Small Arms Survey|author-link=Small Arms Survey|page=13|isbn=978-0-521-88040-4|access-date=30 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830174225/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/publications/by-type/yearbook/small-arms-survey-2008.html|archive-date=30 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{pn|date=September 2024}}

==See also==
*[[List of airliner shootdown incidents]]
{{clear right}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<!-- + -->
<ref name="Accidents/incidents for 2007">{{cite news|title= Accidents/incidents for 2007|first= David|last= Learmount|agency= [[Flight International]]|publisher= [[FlightGlobal]]|date= 7 January 2008|url= http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/accidentsincidents-for-2007-220648/|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140219042852/http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/accidentsincidents-for-2007-220648/|archive-date= 19 February 2014|url-status= live|quote= The aircraft was hit by more than one missile shortly after take-off and crashed. On 9 March another of the airline's Il-76s had been hit by a missile before landing at Mogadishu and landed successfully but suffered serious damage.}}</ref>
<!-- + -->
<ref name="Belarus says missile caused Somali plane crash">{{cite news|title=Belarus says missile caused Somali plane crash |publisher=[[Reuters]] |date=24 March 2007 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL24227807 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729083438/http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/03/24/idUSL24227807 |archive-date=29 July 2014 |url-status=live  }}</ref>
<!-- + -->
<ref name="Belarusian Plane in Somalia was transporting armaments?">{{cite news|title=Belarusian Plane in Somalia was transporting armaments? |agency=Charter 97 |publisher=GaroweOnline.com |date=6 April 2007 |url=http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/Belarusian_Plane_in_Somalia_was_transporting_armaments.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812132650/http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/Belarusian_Plane_in_Somalia_was_transporting_armaments.shtml |archive-date=12 August 2014 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
<!-- + -->
<ref name="Cargo Plane Shot Down in Somalia">{{cite news|title=Cargo Plane Shot Down in Somalia |first=Mohamed Olad |last=Hassan |agency=[[Associated Press]] |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=24 March 2007 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301775.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103010430/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301775.html |archive-date=3 November 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
<!-- + -->
<ref name="Charter">{{cite web|title=Hundreds of Belarusians pay a last tribute to crew members of IL-76 aircraft (Photo) |publisher=Charter'97 |date=2 April 2007 |url=http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2007/04/02/il |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707043222/http://charter97.org/eng/news/2007/04/02/il |archive-date=7 July 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
<!-- + -->
<ref name="Headlines briefing: 3 April 2007">{{cite news|title=Headlines briefing: 3 April 2007 |agency=[[Flight International]] |publisher=[[FlightGlobal]] |date=3 April 2007 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/headlines-briefing-3-april-2007-212979/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729064936/http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/headlines-briefing-3-april-2007-212979/ |archive-date=29 July 2014 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
<!-- + --> 
<ref name="ic_news_124_268568">{{cite news|title=Создана госкомиссия по расследованию гибели в Сомали экипажа белорусского самолета |language=Belarusian |trans-title=Commission established by the state (of Belarus) to investigate the death of a Belarusian crew in Somalia |publisher=Naviny.by |date=25 March 2007 |url=http://naviny.by/rubrics/disaster/2007/03/25/ic_news_124_268568/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312114942/http://naviny.by/rubrics/disaster/2007/03/25/ic_news_124_268568/ |archive-date=12 March 2013 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
<!-- + -->
<ref name="Missile attack on plane kills 11 Belarusian">{{cite news|title=Missile attack on plane kills 11 Belarusian |agency=[[Indo-Asian News Service|IANS]] |publisher=[[The Sun (Malaysia)|The Malaysia Sun]] |date=24 March 2007 |url=http://www.malaysiasun.com/index.php/sid/236720/scat/b8de8e630faf3631 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726120147/http://www.malaysiasun.com/index.php/sid/236720/scat/b8de8e630faf3631 |archive-date=26 July 2014 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
<!-- + -->
<ref name="Rocket hit Belarussian aid plane in Somalia">{{cite news|title=Rocket hit Belarussian aid plane in Somalia |publisher=[[Independent Online (South Africa)|Independent Online]] |date=13 March 2007 |url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/rocket-hit-belarussian-aid-plane-in-somalia-1.318726 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729114154/http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/rocket-hit-belarussian-aid-plane-in-somalia-1.318726 |archive-date=29 July 2014 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
<!-- + -->
<ref name="Somalia manpads scare forces FAA height ban">{{cite news|title=Somalia manpads scare forces FAA height ban |first=John |last=Croft |location=London |publisher=[[FlightGlobal]] |date=5 April 2007 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/somalia-manpads-scare-forces-faa-height-ban-213104/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729060312/http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/somalia-manpads-scare-forces-faa-height-ban-213104/ |archive-date=29 July 2014 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
<!-- + -->
<ref name="Somalia: Cargo Plane Shot Down in Mogadishu">{{cite news|title=Somalia: Cargo Plane Shot Down in Mogadishu |publisher=CaribJournal |date=24 March 2007 |url=http://caribjournal.com/2007/03/24/somalia-cargo-plane-shot-down-in-mogadishu/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928032257/http://caribjournal.com/2007/03/24/somalia-cargo-plane-shot-down-in-mogadishu/ |archive-date=28 September 2007  }}&nbsp;</ref>
<!-- + -->
<ref name="Uganda: 'UPDF Somalia Mission Plane Was Shot At'">{{cite news|title=Uganda: 'UPDF Somalia Mission Plane Was Shot At' |agency=[[New Vision]] |publisher=[[AllAfrica.com]] |date=13 March 2007 |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200703140212.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317024952/http://allafrica.com/stories/200703140212.html |archive-date=17 March 2007 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
|30em}}

==External links==
*{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20070927195838/http://www.shabelle.net/news/ne2619.htm Shabelle.net image gallery of crash site]}} ({{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927195838/http://www.shabelle.net/news/ne2619.htm Archive]}})
*[http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?regsearch=EW-78849&distinct_entry=true Pre-accident images of the aircraft]

{{portalbar|Somalia|Azerbaijan|Aviation}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in Somalia}}
{{War in Somalia (2006–2009)}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 2007}}

{{coord missing|Somalia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mogadishu TransAVIAexport Airlines Ilyushin Il-76 airplane crash, 2007}}
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Ilyushin Il-76]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2007]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Somalia]]
[[Category:Airliner shootdown incidents]]
[[Category:2007 in Somalia]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 2007]]
[[Category:2000s in Mogadishu]]
[[Category:21st-century aircraft shootdown incidents]]
[[Category:March 2007 events in Africa]]
[[Category:War in Somalia (2006–2009)]]
[[Category:2007 disasters in Somalia]]
[[Category:Violations of medical neutrality during the Somali Civil War]]
[[Category:Military history of Mogadishu]]
[[Category:Belarusian people murdered abroad]]