What happened
On 29 November, flight LAM470 departed Maputo Airport at 11:26 local time, destined for Luanda, Angola. During the flight, while traversing the airspace above Botswana and Namibia, the Embraer 190 encountered severe weather, including high-altitude turbulence and cumulonimbus clouds. At 12:30 local time, the aircraft lost contact with radar and disappeared. No distress signal was transmitted by the crew prior to the loss of communication.
Search and rescue operations were initiated following the aircraft's failure to reach its destination. However, these efforts were temporarily halted during the night due to heavy rainfall and extremely low visibility. On 30 November, Namibian police confirmed that the wreckage had been found within the Bwabwata National Park, situated near Divundu. The crash site was located in a remote, heavily forested area, which complicated recovery efforts. The impact and subsequent fire resulted in the complete destruction of the airframe.
Findings
There were 33 fatalities resulting from the accident, representing all individuals on board. The passenger manifest included citizens from Mozambique, Angola, Portugal, France, Brazil, and China. The aircraft was lost after an uncontrolled descent into the terrain during severe weather conditions.