Air Rhodesia Flight 827
| Industry | Aviation |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Salisbury , Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe) |
| Products | Commercial air transport |
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Air Rhodesia Flight 827, operated by the Vickers Viscount with registration VP-YND and named 'Umniati', was a routine commercial flight connecting Kariba and the capital city, Salisbury, Rhodesia (present-day Harare, Zimbabwe). On 12 February 1979, shortly after takeoff, the aircraft was struck by a missile fired by guerrillas from the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), employing a Strela 2 surface-to-air missile system. This event bore striking resemblance to the downing of Air Rhodesia Flight 825 which occurred five months prior. As of 2025[update], this tragedy stands as the most catastrophic aviation disaster in the history of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe.[1]
Incident description
The flight experienced a departure delay from Kariba, resulting in the pilots foregoing the climb over a nearby lake that would have elevated the plane beyond the effective range of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles before proceeding toward Salisbury.Template:Fix/category[citation needed] ZIPRA operatives had intelligence suggesting that General Peter Walls, Commander of the Rhodesian Security Forces, was aboard and attempted to assassinate him. However, General Walls and his wife were actually on a separate but similar aircraft that departed approximately fifteen minutes later; this second plane immediately performed evasive maneuvers intended to avoid missile threats and successfully landed in Salisbury.Template:Fix/category[citation needed]
Mirroring the earlier incident from five months before, Flight 827 was hit by one or multiple Strela-2 missiles (widely known during that period as 'SAM-7', with the NATO reporting name SA-7)[2], causing it to crash into challenging terrain within the Vuti African Purchase Area east of Lake Kariba.[3] All 59 individuals aboard — passengers and crew alike — perished in the crash.[1]
Aftermath
In response to the second attack, Air Rhodesia implemented modifications on their Viscount fleet by fitting exhaust pipe shrouds to minimize the aircraft's infrared signature. Additionally, the planes were coated with specialized low-radiation paint as a defense against heat-seeking missile threats.
On 25 February 1979, the Rhodesian Air Force, with discreet support from the South African Air Force, executed Operation Vanity, a retaliatory airstrike targeting a ZIPRA base located near Livingstone, Zambia.
Commemoration
A tribute honoring those who lost their lives in the two Rhodesian Viscount tragedies, known as the Viscount Memorial, was established within the precincts of the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2012. The memorial was officially unveiled on 1 September of that year. Two vertical granite slabs bear the engraved names of the deceased passengers and crew members, crowned by a symbol representing an aircraft.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ranter, Harro (1979). "Description of Air Rhodesia Flight RH827". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation.
- ↑ "Again, death on 'Flight SAM-7'". Time. 26 February 1979.
- ↑ Nyarota, Geoffrey (2006). Against the Grain: Memoirs of a Zimbabwean Newsman. Zebra Books. ISBN 9781770071124. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
- Air Rhodesia accidents and incidents
- 20th-century aircraft shootdown incidents
- 1979 in Rhodesia
- Accidents and incidents involving the Vickers Viscount
- Airliner shootdown incidents
- Aviation accidents and incidents in 1979
- Aviation accidents and incidents in Rhodesia
- February 1979 in Africa
- Mass murder in 1979
- Rhodesian Bush War
- Terrorism in Rhodesia
- Terrorist incidents in Zimbabwe
- Massacres in Rhodesia