2018 Algerian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 crash

{{Short description|2018 aviation accident in Boufarik, Algeria}}

{{Infobox aircraft occurrence

| name = 2018 Algerian Air Force Il-76 crash

| image =Algeria Air Force Ilyushin Il-76TD 7T-WIV.jpg

| alt = Photograph of an Algerian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76.

| caption = 7T-WIV, the aircraft involved in the accident, in 1999

| occurrence_type = Accident

| date = {{start date|2018|04|11|df=y}}

| summary = Crashed shortly after take-off; under investigation{{update inline|date=December 2023}}

| site = Near Boufarik Airport, Boufarik, Algeria

| coordinates = {{Coord|36|32|32|N|02|51|59|E|type:event|display=inline,title}}

| occupants = 257

| passengers = 247

| crew = 10

| fatalities = 257

| injuries =

| missing =

| survivors = 0

| aircraft_type = Ilyushin Il-76TD

| aircraft_name =

| operator = Algerian Air Force

| tail_number = 7T-WIV

| origin = Boufarik Airport, Boufarik, Algeria

| stopover = Boudghene Ben Ali Lotfi Airport, Béchar, Algeria

| stopover0 =

| last_stopover =

| destination = Tindouf Airport, Tindouf, Algeria

}}

On 11 April 2018, an Ilyushin Il-76 military transport aircraft of the Algerian Air Force crashed shortly after take-off from Boufarik Airport, Boufarik, Algeria, which is near Blida and south-west of the capital, Algiers. All 257 people on board were killed, making the accident the deadliest air crash on Algerian soil. The crash is also the deadliest accident in the African Continent.{{cite news |last1=Walsh |first1=Declan |date=11 April 2018 |title=Military Plane Crash Is Algeria's Worst Air Disaster, With 257 Dead |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/world/middleeast/algeria-military-plane-crash.html |access-date=11 April 2018 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}

Aircraft

The aircraft was an Ilyushin Il-76TD of the Algerian Air Force's 347th Strategic Transport Squadron ({{Langx|fr|347e Escadron de Transport Stratégique}}){{cite web |title=Algeria - Air Force |url=http://www.scramble.nl/orbats/algeria |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815065937/https://www.scramble.nl/orbats/algeria |archive-date=15 August 2020 |access-date=12 April 2018 |website=Scramble}} produced by Tashkent Aviation Production Association. The aircraft, registered 7T-WIV,{{cite news |date=12 April 2018 |title=Россия поможет Алжиру расследовать крушение Ил-76ТД |trans-title=Russia will help Algeria to investigate the crash of the Il-76TD |url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3600795 |access-date=13 April 2018 |work=Kommersant |language=ru}} msn 1043419649, had first flown in 1994.{{cite web |title=Accident description |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20180411-0 |access-date=11 April 2018 |website=Aviation Safety Network |publisher=Flight Safety Foundation}}

Crash

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At 07:50 local time (06:50 UTC),{{cite news |last=Malsin |first=Jared |last2=Wall |first2=Robert |date=11 April 2018 |title=More Than 250 Dead in Algerian Military-Plane Crash |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/algerian-military-plane-crashes-killing-at-least-100-people-1523440736 |access-date=18 April 2018 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660}} the aircraft crashed just outside the perimeter of Boufarik Airport, Boufarik, from which it had recently taken off.{{cite news |date=11 April 2018 |title=At least 105 killed in military plane crash in Algeria |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-04/11/c_137103565.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414032819/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-04/11/c_137103565.htm |archive-date=14 April 2018 |access-date=1 August 2018 |work=Xinhua News Agency}}{{cite news |last=Vincenot |first=Aymeric |date=12 April 2018 |title=Algeria in mourning after its deadliest plane crash |url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/algeria-in-mourning-after-its-deadliest-plane-crash-14403947 |access-date=18 April 2018 |work=IOL |publisher=Independent Media |agency=Agence France-Presse}}{{cite news |last=Ouali |first=Aomar |date=11 April 2018 |title=Crash Kills 257 in Algeria's Deadliest Aviation Disaster |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2018-04-11/algerian-military-plane-crashes-near-a-base |access-date=17 April 2018 |work=US News |agency=Associated Press}} Witnesses reported that the wing of the aircraft had caught fire prior to the crash.{{cite news |date=11 April 2018 |title=257 people feared dead in Algerian military plane crash |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2018/0411/953653-algeria-plane-crash/ |access-date=11 April 2018 |work=RTÉ}} The flight had a final destination of Tindouf Airport, Tindouf, with a stopover in Boudghene Ben Ali Lotfi Airport, Béchar. All 10 crew and 247 passengers on board were killed on the scene.{{cite news |last=McGuinness |first=Alan |date=11 April 2018 |title=Algerian military plane crash death toll rises to 257 |url=https://news.sky.com/story/algerian-military-plane-with-more-than-100-on-board-crashes-11326146 |access-date=11 April 2018 |work=Sky News}} Among the passengers were 176 members of the Algerian People's National Army. Many of these soldiers and officers were traveling with family members.{{Cite news |date=11 April 2018 |title=Algeria military plane crash: 257 dead near Algiers |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-43724941 |access-date=11 April 2018 |work=BBC News}}{{cite news |date=11 April 2018 |title=Número de mortos no acidente do avião militar argelino sobe a 257 |trans-title=Death count of Algerian military plane accident reaches 257 |url=https://www.efe.com/efe/portugal/mundo/numero-de-mortos-no-acidente-do-avi-o-militar-argelino-sobe-a-257/50000444-3580446 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412064531/https://www.efe.com/efe/portugal/mundo/numero-de-mortos-no-acidente-do-avi-o-militar-argelino-sobe-a-257/50000444-3580446 |archive-date=12 April 2018 |access-date=13 April 2018 |work=EFE |language=pt}}

Thirty Saharawi students and other civilians from the refugee camps in Tindouf were among the dead according to officials of the Saharawi Republic. They had been visiting Algiers for various medical and bureaucratic reasons. Saharawis from the refugee camps are regularly provided with free flights in Algerian military transport aircraft.{{cite news |date=11 April 2018 |title=Mueren 257 personas al estrellarse un avión militar en Argelia |trans-title=257 people killed when a military plane crashes in Algeria |url=http://www.rtve.es/noticias/20180411/argelia-accidente-aereo-avion-militar-centenar-soldados/1712620.shtml |access-date=11 April 2018 |work=RTVE |language=es |quote=30 de los fallecidos son civiles saharauis |trans-quote=30 of the deceased are Sahrawi civilians}}{{cite news |date=11 April 2018 |title=Mueren 30 saharauis en el accidente de un avión militar en Argelia |trans-title=30 Saharawis killed in the accident of a military plane in Algeria |url=http://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20180411/442460542056/mueren-30-saharauis-en-el-accidente-de-un-avion-militar-en-argelia.html |access-date=13 April 2018 |work=La Vanguardia |language=es |agency=EFE}} Initial reports claimed that a senior member of the National Liberation Front, the governing party of the National Assembly in Algeria, said that 26 Polisario Front members were among the casualties.{{cite news |date=11 April 2018 |title=Algeria state TV: 257 killed in Boufarik military plane crash |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/04/algeria-military-plane-crashes-boufarik-airport-reports-180411081014559.html |access-date=11 April 2018 |work=Al Jazeera}} The Moroccan media in particular unanimously claimed that several Polisario Front members were among the dead; however, Algerian and Saharawi officials have since maintained that there were only 30 Saharawi civilian casualties.{{cite news |date=11 April 2018 |title=Mohamed VI envía condolencias a Argelia por la tragedia que dejó 257 víctimas |trans-title=Mohammed VI offers condolences to Algeria for the tragedy that claimed 257 victims |url=http://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20180411/442460542056/mueren-30-saharauis-en-el-accidente-de-un-avion-militar-en-argelia.html |access-date=13 April 2018 |work=La Vanguardia |language=es |agency=EFE}}

Local authorities dispatched fourteen ambulances, ten fire apparatus and 130 personnel to attend to the crash site. As a result of the crash, the road between Boufarik and Blida was temporarily closed to traffic.{{cite news |date=11 April 2018 |title=DIRECT - Plusiers morts dans le crash d'un avion militaire à Blida |trans-title=LIVE - Several dead in the crash of a military aircraft in Blida |url=https://www.alg24.net/direct-plusieurs-morts-crash-dun-avion-militaire-a-blida/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413005438/https://www.alg24.net/direct-plusieurs-morts-crash-dun-avion-militaire-a-blida/ |archive-date=13 April 2018 |accessdate=11 April 2018 |work=Alg24 |language=fr}}

Aftermath

Following the accident, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the President of Algeria, declared three days of national mourning,{{cite news |date=11 April 2018 |title=Hundreds killed as Algerian military plane crashes after takeoff |url=https://www.independent.ie/world-news/hundreds-killed-as-algerian-military-plane-crashes-after-takeoff-36797856.html |access-date=11 April 2018 |work=Irish Independent}} echoing his reaction to the 2014 military air crash.{{cite news |date=11 February 2014 |title=Algerian military plane crashes into mountain, 77 killed |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-algeria-crash-idUKBREA1A0YF20140211 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306154411/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-algeria-crash-idUKBREA1A0YF20140211 |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 March 2016 |access-date=11 February 2014 |work=Reuters}} For his part, Brahim Ghali, the President of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, declared seven days of national mourning. Ahmed Gaid Salah, Chief of Staff of the Algerian Army, ordered an investigation to determine the cause of the accident. Russia stated that it would assist in the investigation.