IL-76T similar to accident aircraft. Image by US Agency for International Development (USAID)

An Ilyushin IL-76T transport airplane crashed earlier today into the Ugandan side of Lake Victoria in Africa.  All 11 people aboard are dead.  The aircraft departed Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport at 5:14 AM local time carrying supplies as part of the African Union’s aid to the United Nation peacekeepers in Somalia.  Less than five minutes into the flight, the airplane crashed into the lake and sank.  Many witnesses report seeing the aircraft on fire before it crashed in the water, while others only saw the fire after the airplane impacted the water.  The airplane was flying towards Mogadishu International Airport and was carrying water purification supplies and tents.

The operator of the airplane, Aerolift, says that the crash could have been an act of sabotage, but others are quick to point out that Aerolift has had more than one crash in the past month and could be an unsafe operation.  This past month, another Aerolift cargo plane, an Antonov An-12 crashed on takeoff in Luxor, Egypt.  In that accident, investigators are looking at a possible rupture in the fuel lines.  The airline says that any sabotage could be the work of Islamic extremists.

The airplane crashed into an area of Lake Victoria known as Magombe or, in English, graveyard.  Many boat accidents happen in the zone.

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