A Russian border guard Ilyushin Il-76 crashed in a forest on Russia's far eastern coast on 1 December, killing all 18 people on board. The crew was forced to attempt an off-airfield landing near Novaya Inya after fire started in the cargo hold.
The aircraft, carrying 71,600lb of construction materials from Moscow via Bratsk to Anadyr on the Bering Sea, was cruising at 27,500ft (9,000m) when the emergency was declared. The Il-76 (RA-76839) was built in 1992.
Another large freighter, a Boeing 747-200F belonging to UK-based MK Airlines, flying from Luxembourg to Port Harcourt, Nigeria, crashed 700m short of runway 21 on a night approach to its destination on 27 November, killing one of the 13 people on board.
The front section of the aircraft broke away from the rest of the fuselage when it hit the ground, and it caught fire.
The 21-year-old aircraft (Ghanaian-registered 9G-MKI) was powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7Q engines. It was believed to be carrying out a VOR/DME approach at the time of the accident.
There have also been two fatal Cessna 208B Caravan accidents. The first, on 28 November, involved a Servicios Aereos Nacionales aircraft (HP-1405), which hit high ground in the Fila Chonta hills on its descent into Quepos, Costa Rica, killing the crew and one of the six passengers.
The second freighter accident occurred on 1 December when an Air Carriers Cessna 208 crashed on its approach to Bessemer, Alabama, USA, killing both occupants.
Source: Flight International
