The aircraft was manned by a crew of 10 and was flying 14 passengers, which included 12 German marines and two of their spouses from Cologne, Germany, to Cape Town, South Africa, for a regatta celebrating the 75th anniversary of the South African Navy. As such it was equipped with cameras and sensors in the fuselage. Assigned to 1 Staffel/Flugbereitschaft, it had previously been used for verification purposes under the Open Skies Treaty. The Tupolev Tu-154M involved, tail number 11+02, was one of two in the Luftwaffe inventory, both inherited from the East German Air Force. Six other personnel were on board as well, including a crew chief, two flight engineers, and two loadmasters. The aircraft, using the callsign REACH 4201, was under the command of Captain Peter Vallejo, 34, with Captain Jason Ramsey, 27, and Captain Gregory M. At the time it was conducting a humanitarian flight to Namibia, delivering a mine-clearing team for the United Nations. The example involved in the accident, a C-141B variant, tail number 65-9405, was assigned to the 305th Air Mobility Wing based at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a four-engine strategic airlifter in service with the US Air Force. Ī year before the accident, the International Federation of Airline Pilots' Associations had stated that from a safety point of view, 75 percent of African airspace was "critically deficient." Aircraft and crew The subsequent US Air Force inquiry concluded that the German crew was responsible for the accident, citing pilot error and inadequate air traffic control that contributed to the fatal lack of separation. Furthermore, the Tupolev was flying at the wrong altitude, according to its flight plan and to the semicircular rule.
Neither aircraft was equipped with TCAS collision avoidance systems, and although both crews had filed a flight plan, the German aircraft was not in contact with Namibian air traffic control and controllers were unaware of its presence in Namibian airspace. At the time of the collision, the Tupolev was flying on a southerly route from Niamey, Niger, to Cape Town, South Africa, while the C-141 was heading northwest from Windhoek, Namibia, to Ascension Island. All 33 people onboard both aircraft were killed. On 13 September 1997, a German Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M observation aircraft and a United States Air Force C-141B Starlifter transport aircraft were destroyed in a mid-air collision while cruising at 35,000 feet (11,000 m) off the coast of Namibia.
Georgetown-Wideawake Field, Ascension Islandġ1+02, the Tu-154M involved in the accidentĬape Town International Airport, South Africa Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH/FYWE), Windhoek, Namibia