Gabon Express Flight 221 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight which crashed into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

on 8 June 2004. The

Hawker Siddeley HS 748 The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 (formerly Avro HS 748) is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its absorptio ...

was carrying 26 passengers and 4 crew and was flying from Gabon's capital

Libreville Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...

Franceville Franceville is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of 110,568 at the 2013 census. It lies on the Mpassa River and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It grew from a village named Masuku. Overview P ...

via

Port-Gentil Port-Gentil () or Mandji is the second-largest city of Gabon, and it is a leading seaport. It is the center of Gabon's petroleum and timber industries. The city is located on a delta island in the Ogooue delta. Nearby Cape Lopez is Gabon's weste ...

when an engine failed. The crew tried to return to

Libreville International Airport Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. As of the 2013 cens ...

; however they overflew it and nosedived into the sea. At least 19 people were killed in the crash. It was the second deadliest plane crash in Gabon. Gabon President

Omar Bongo Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo; 30 December 1935 – 8 June 2009) was a Gabonese politician who was the second president of Gabon from 1967 until Death and state funeral of Omar Bongo, his death in 2009. A member of the Gabonese De ...

declared three days of national mourning in response to the disaster.

Flight

Flight 221 was a regular domestic passenger service operated by a Gabonese airline,

Gabon Express Gabon Express was an airline based in Libreville, Gabon. It operated scheduled passenger services and passenger and cargo charters. It ceased operations in June 2004. History The airline was established in 1998 and started operations on 26 Octo ...

. At the time the airline was the second largest airline in

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

, with over 60 destinations. The flight was carrying 26 passengers and 4 crew. Among the passengers were 7

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

nationals, 2 Lebanese and a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

. Shortly after takeoff from Libreville the crew reported problems with the aircraft. A failure of the oil pressure on the No.2 engine occurred, causing the crew to turn back. While returning the crew tried to extend the aircraft's landing gear, however it did not do so, due to problems with the hydraulics. Witnesses on the ground stated that the aircraft was operating with only one engine. Flight 221 then nose-dived into the sea. The tail and the front part of the aircraft separated from the main body. As the aircraft was not fully submerged, several survivors managed to escape from the sinking wreckage. 4 hours after the initial impact, the wreckage sank and fully submerged, with many people still trapped inside the wreckage.

Search and rescue

Immediately after the crash, fire crew and emergency services were deployed. 11 survivors were evacuated from the scene and were taken by helicopters to local hospital in

; none had received serious injuries. Divers were deployed by authorities to rescue people trapped inside the wreckage. Local fishermen, French Navy and French military also joined the rescue effort.

Aftermath

As the crash of Flight 221 claimed 19 lives, the President of Gabon,

, declared three days of national mourning in honor to the victims of the crash. A government official stated that a national funeral will be held in response to the crash.

References

{{coord, 0.450, 9.393, type:event_globe:earth_region:GA, display=title 2004 disasters in Africa Aviation accidents and incidents in 2004 Aviation accidents and incidents in Gabon Accidents and incidents involving the Hawker Siddeley HS 748 Marine salvage operations June 2004 in Africa 2004 in Gabon Airliner accidents and incidents caused by engine failure