What happened
A flight originating from Berlin was operating in Luanda to deliver weaponry and ammunition to militants in Lusaka. During the takeoff roll on runway 23, the aircraft reached a speed of 268 km/h when the number two engine experienced a failure. Following this mechanical issue, the captain attempted to abort the takeoff by applying emergency braking.
The aircraft was unable to come to a halt before the end of the runway. During the overrun, the plane struck a localizer antenna and subsequently caught fire. The impact and following fire resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft and caused 10 fatalities, with no survivors among the occupants.
Findings
Investigations into the accident revealed that the engine failure occurred 56 seconds after the start of the takeoff roll. At the time of the malfunction, the aircraft had reached a speed of 268 km/h, which was significantly higher than the established V1 decision speed of 222 km/h. While the pilot initially considered continuing the takeoff, the eventual decision to abort left the crew with insufficient runway distance to safely stop the plane.