Incident Summary:

01/01/1999: A United Nations (UN) chartered C-130 cargo plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed 20 minutes after it took off from Huambo, Angola, about 300 miles southeast of Luanda. The aircraft had four UN workers and four crewmembers on board. The Angola government accused National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) of carrying out this attack.

GTD ID:
199901010001

When:
1999-01-01

Country:
Angola

Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Huambo

City:
Near Huambo

Location Details:
The C-130 aircraft, with eight people on board, was hit by anti-aircraft fire 20 minutes after it took off from the city of Huambo, about 300 miles southeast of the capital, Luanda.

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Armed Assault
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Government (Diplomatic)
Name of Entity United Nations
Specific Description United Nations C-130 cargo plane in Huambo, Angola
Nationality of Target Multinational
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage Yes
Extent of Property Damage Major (likely > $1 million but < $1 billion)
Value of Property Damage $12,000,000.00
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Firearms Automatic Weapon
Weapon Details
Anti-aircraft guns were used in the attack.
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?No
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) (suspected) No
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators Unknown
Number of Captured Perpetrators Unknown
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 8 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities Unknown
Number of U.S. Fatalities Unknown
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 8
Number of U.S. Injured Unknown
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
“Angola,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 3, 1999.
“Angola: UN's Diallo Says Plane 'Targeted' For Attack,” SABC 3 Television Network, January 3, 1999.