Antonov An-12 - Accidents and Incidents

Accidents and Incidents

As of August 2011, more than 190 Antonov An-12s and Shaanxi Y-8s have crashed since the first prototype of the An-12 was severely damaged during a landing in mid-1958.

• On February 7, 1968, an Indian Air Force An-12 from Squadron 25 (registered BL534 and operating as Flight 202) crashed in the Rohtang Pass, killing all 6 crew and 92 passengers. The remains of a person from the missing aircraft were discovered in 2003 but the fate of the aircraft was unknown until a search party found the wreckage buried in snow in August 2005. As of August 2011 this remains the largest loss of life in an An-12 crash.

• On 13 May 1977, a LOT An-12 (registered SP-LZA) operating a cargo flight from Warsaw to Beirut via Varna crashed at approximately 08:45 local time near Aramoun, Lebanon, killing all nine people on board, some of who were working for a Polish secret service. The aircraft had been approaching Beirut International Airport, but the pilots had encountered language difficulties when communicating with the local air traffic controllers, so that they likely lost the orientation. The aircraft was the property of the Polish Air Force and was flown by military pilots and had previously transported weapons for the Lebanese Civil War. When it crashed it was carrying a cargo of veal.

• On November 25, 1985, a cargo An-12 of Aeroflot en route from Cuito Cuanavale to Luanda was shot down by South African Special Forces and crashed approximately 43 km of Menongue, the provincial center of the Cuando Cubango province, Angola, killing 8 crew members and 13 passengers on board.

• On February 20, 2009, an An-12 of Aerolift crashed after an engine caught fire on take-off at Luxor International Airport, Egypt. All five crew were killed.

• On August 26, 2009, an An-12 of Aéro-Frêt (registered TN-AIA) crashed on approach to Maya-Maya Airport, Brazzaville, Congo. The flight had originated from Pointe Noire Airport. The five Ukrainian crew and one Congolese passenger were killed.

• On April 21, 2010, Pacific East Asia Cargo Airlines Flight 7815, operated by An-12 UR-AN216 crashed on approach to Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, Philippines after a fire broke out in flight. The aircraft ended up in a rice field in Pampanga, the Philippines, killing three crew members on board.

• On March 21, 2011, A Trans Air Congo freight flight from Brazzaville to Pointe Noire (Congo) crashed into a residential neighborhood of Mvoumvou after receiving clearance to land at Pointe Noire Airport. All four crew perished in the crash, as well as a number of persons on the ground.

• On August 9, 2011, a cargo An-12 operated by Avis Amur crashed in the Magadan region in far east of Russia. All eleven people on board were killed. Preliminary reports indicate the pilots reported a fuel leak and an engine fire to air traffic controllers, but did not manage to return to the airport, the aircraft crashing in a wooded area. The aircraft involved, RA-11125, was the oldest aircraft in the Russian commercial air fleet.

• On October 7, 2012, an Azza An-12 performing flight on behalf of Sudan Air Force crashed near Khartoum while attempting an emergency landing after failure of two engines on one wing. Of 22 people on board, 15 died and 7 were injured.