What happened
During a period of simultaneous operations near Dakar-Yoff Airport, two aircraft were involved in a mid-air collision. The first aircraft, a Twin Otter, was performing a flight from Saint Louis and had been granted clearance to descend to 3,000 feet while positioned over the YF VOR. Simultaneously, a NAMC YS-11A-117, operated by Gambia Airways and registered C5-GAA, departed from Dakar-Yoff Airport on a scheduled service to Banjul. The crew of the C5-GAA had been instructed to climb via radial 140 and hold an altitude of 2,000 feet while over the same VOR waypoint.
As both aircraft reached the YF VOR, they collided in mid-air. The impact caused significant damage to the NAMC YS-11A-117, including the partial loss of its left wing. Despite this damage, the crew of the C5-GAA managed to navigate the aircraft back to Dakar-Yoff Airport for a safe landing. However, the Twin Otter experienced an uncontrolled descent following the impact and crashed into the ocean a few kilometers from the coast. The accident resulted in 3 fatalities among the occupants of the Twin Otter.