Senegalese investigators are looking into the possibility that a missing British Aerospace 125 executive jet collided with a Boeing 737-800 before disappearing over the Atlantic Ocean.
The Senegalese national civil aviation authority ANACIM states that the Ceiba Intercontinental 737 had been bound for Cotonou as flight C2071.
It says the Senegalair BAe 125 – registered 6V-AIM – had been flying out of Ouagadougou and “crossed” the Ceiba flight at 18:12UTC some 300nm from Dakar.
ANACIM says the technical inquiry will “confirm or disprove” whether there was a collision between the two.
It adds that the Ceiba aircraft had departed Dakar at 17:29UTC and eventually continued to Malabo, in Equatorial Guinea, where it landed at 21:40UTC.
ANACIM has not clarified whether the aircraft stopped in Cotonou.
There is no information about the condition of the 737 (3C-LLY) or any immediate evidence of a mid-air collision. Ceiba Intercontinental could not be reached for comment.
The BAe 125, with seven occupants, continued past its destination, Dakar, and disappeared some 60nm off the Senegalese coast on 5 September, according to local reports.
While the possibility of a 737’s continuing to its destination following a mid-air collision appears unlikely, such an event is not without precedent in Africa.
One of Angolan carrier TAAG’s 737s struck a Cessna 404 in December 2002 near Windhoek, Namibia, while en route to Lubango and Luanda. While the Cessna sustained severe damage to its vertical fin it managed to land safely. The 737 proceeded to its destination.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
