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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3013911.stm

Geez, that must've been terrible.

Wow.

Didn't something like this happen back in the 80's?

Many are old Soviet military planes, with passengers and cargo crammed in the back.

Typical dumbass media.

1: The Il-76 (article doesn't say what mark) is not old. It's a proven heavy lifter just like the C-141 Starlifter, and is one of the best in its class.

2: Passengers and cargo crammed in the back? Where else are they gonna go?

Whoever fucked up in the maintenance crew should be brought up on charges. This stuff doesn't happen.

Cargo ramps are a weak spot in any aircraft but shouldn’t ever fail like this.

Vympel wrote:

Many are old Soviet military planes, with passengers and cargo crammed in the back.

Typical dumbass media.

1: The Il-76 (article doesn't say what mark) is not old. It's a proven heavy lifter just like the C-141 Starlifter, and is one of the best in its class.

2: Passengers and cargo crammed in the back? Where else are they gonna go?

Whoever fucked up in the maintenance crew should be brought up on charges. This stuff doesn't happen.

Remember, the media is telling this news to the masses and that includes those that get their intellectual jollies from sticking their fingers in their nose.

That said, Africa has this thing often it seems, not as bad though as this. They get good use out of these planes old and new since you can't nip in a car to the local hospital or supermarket in the middle of the Savannah. I chalk it off to bad maintenance or a freak failure in the systems over time from wear-and-tear.

Vympel wrote:

Many are old Soviet military planes, with passengers and cargo crammed in the back.

Typical dumbass media.

1: The Il-76 (article doesn't say what mark) is not old. It's a proven heavy lifter just like the C-141 Starlifter, and is one of the best in its class.

That's with decent maintenance. In Africa, with whatever parts they can scrounge up for maintenance, I'd prefer an older and simpler aircraft, like a Douglas DC-3/C-47.

Incidentally, there's a company in the US that refurbishes old DC-series planes (DC-3 through -5) with modern wings and turboprop engines. It's expected that so modified, these planes will see their hundredth birthdays easily.

Admiral Valdemar wrote:Remember, the media is telling this news to the masses and that includes those that get their intellectual jollies from sticking their fingers in their nose.

That quote just made my day. If I had room, that would be sig material.

Iceberg wrote:

Vympel wrote:

Many are old Soviet military planes, with passengers and cargo crammed in the back.

Typical dumbass media.

1: The Il-76 (article doesn't say what mark) is not old. It's a proven heavy lifter just like the C-141 Starlifter, and is one of the best in its class.

That's with decent maintenance. In Africa, with whatever parts they can scrounge up for maintenance, I'd prefer an older and simpler aircraft, like a Douglas DC-3/C-47.

Incidentally, there's a company in the US that refurbishes old DC-series planes (DC-3 through -5) with modern wings and turboprop engines. It's expected that so modified, these planes will see their hundredth birthdays easily.

I gotta admit I am fond of those old DC planes. They are the great piston birds that were eclipsed by the Boeing 707 almost instantly.

The DC series is great for use in South America, especially around the Andes. Jets are just plain too fast for the Andes - at 400 miles an hour you'd slam into a mountain before you even knew what was going on.

Vympel wrote:Whoever fucked up in the maintenance crew should be brought up on charges. This stuff doesn't happen.

What will you charge the mechanic with, trying his best to do his job even though he has inadequate training and lacks the proper parts for standard preventive maintance? This is what it's like flying over there. This isn't Australia, North America or Western Europe, this is Africa.

Nothing can defeat a C-47. Some examples that predate WW2 still have a couple hundred years of airframe life left.

AMEN. The DC-3 was a fantastically over-engineered airplane, and Douglas built a LOT of them.