Date: Wednesday, February 09, :16 AM Subject: Aviation in Africa (from a Boeing operator in Africa) In northwestern Tanzania at the lower end of Lake Victoria is Mwanza, a small port city, with a long but narrow runway. A few years back a DC-8 crashed trying to land here and the remains are scattered in various places around the airport. But that's another story. Last week, at about 2000 Hrs., (in the dark), an Arabian registered B707 cargo aircraft was landing to pick up a load of fish. On the first approach the airport lost power & lost all its lights (a routine experience here), so the pilot had to go-around until the back-up generators got the lights on. On the second approach he was much too far to the right & almost took out the small terminal and control tower. Missed approach #2. On the third final (approaching from over the lake with no visual reference), the control tower called to him, ”You are too low, pull up," to which the Captain replied, ”Don't worry, I know what I am doing!” About 5 KM short of the runway, he hit the water, tore off all 4 engines and gear, but didn't puncture the fuselage. With battery power & the taxi light on, they were picked up by a fishing boat (no injuries). The following day, it was still afloat, so a tug towed it to shallow water near the airport, where it will probably be a beacon for many years. (Maybe the pilot misunderstood where he was supposed to pick up a load of fish.)

This CFIT (sorry, CFIW) accident appears to be a combination of pilot skills (or lack of skills), spatial disorientation due to night conditions, flight over water without visual references, and inattention to navigation equipment.