On 30 November 2012, an Ilyushin Il-76 freighter aircraft, operated by the Armenian cargo airline Air Highnesses on behalf of Congolese cargo airline Aéro-Service, crashed on landing at Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo,[1] killing all six occupants and 26 people on the ground.[2]
The aircraft was on a domestic flight from Pointe Noire Airport to Maya-Maya Airport and was attempting to land on runway 5L in heavy rain when it clipped high trees about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft; 1,100 yd) from the runway threshold, disintegrating over 500 metres (1,600 ft; 550 yd).[2] The aircraft caught fire and was destroyed, killing all five Armenian crew and an Armenian policeman present on board, as well as 26 local residents, injuring a further 14. The aircraft was initially mistakenly attributed to Trans Air Congo.[3]