1983 CAAK Ilyushin Il-62 crash

1983 Civil Aviation Administration of Korea Ilyushin Il-62 crash

P-889, the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date	1 July 1983 (1983-07-01)
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain
Site	Near Labé, Guinea
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Ilyushin Il-62M
Operator	CAAK
Registration	P-889
Flight origin	Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, Pyongyang, North Korea
1st stopover	Kabul International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan
Last stopover	Cairo International Airport, Cairo, Egypt
Destination	Conakry International Airport, Conakry, Guinea
Occupants	23
Passengers	17
Crew	6
Fatalities	23
Survivors	0

On 1 July 1983, a CAAK Ilyushin Il-62M operating a scheduled international charter flight from Pyongyang, North Korea to Conakry Guinea via Bamako, Mali, carrying 23 passengers and crew, crashed into mountainous terrain whilst approaching Conakry International Airport. All 23 occupants on board were killed

The aircraft was flying from Pyongyang with construction cargo and workers ahead of the 1984 Organization of African Unity summit due to take place the following year.

It remains the deadliest aviation crash in Guinean history, and was the tenth operational loss of an Il-62 since its introduction.[1] It remains the last known fatal aviation accident involving the airline.[2][3][4]

Aircraft and flight

On 1 July 1983, P-889 was carrying construction material, as well as construction workers and technicians from Pyongyang, North Korea to complete work on a hall ahead of the twentieth Organization of African Unity summit scheduled to take place in Conakry, Guinea, in May 1984.[5][6][7] P-889 made two intermediate stops on the way to Guinea, stopping in Kabul and Cairo to refuel.

Accident

On 1 July 1983, P-889 crashed in the Guinean highland region of Fouta Djallon, near the town of Labé, 160 miles northwest of Conakry International Airport, as it was attempting to land at Conakry International Airport.[8][9] All 23 passengers and crew were killed.[10]

Aftermath

It was the airline's first fatal accident. News of the crash was slow to spread and was only announced on 4 July due to difficulties in reaching the remote crash site.[8][11] Initial reports from a radio based in Conakry did not give details surrounding the accident, such as when the plane crashed nor the amount of casualties, only calling what happened a catastrophe.[12][13] The Democratic Party of Guinea called the crash a disaster.[14] The Guinean Government declared two days of national mourning.[12][15] A high-level delegation of Guinean government officials traveled to North Korea shortly after the crash to deliver official condolences to Kim Il Sung.[16]

The cause of the crash remains unknown.[17] However, Airways News claimed that pilot error compounded by fatigue was suspected to be the cause.[18]

See also

• Eastern Air Lines Flight 980
• Aeroflot Flight 498
• Aeroflot Flight 5463
• Thai Airways International Flight 311

References

1. Ranter, Harro (1983-07-01). "ASN Aircraft accident Ilyushin 62M P-889 Labé". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
2. Frommberg, Laura (3 October 2012). "Phantom Air Koryo". aeroTELEGRAPH (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 25 January 2025.
3. S, Deddy (1 February 2015). "Maskapai Korut, Disebut Terburuk Tapi Jarang Celaka" [North Korean Airlines, Called the Worst But Rarely Accidental]. CNN Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved 25 January 2025.
4. Talmadge, Eric (2 September 2015). "Is N. Korean airline world's worst? It may be the quirkiest". The Associated Press. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
5. 1984 Britannica Book of the Year. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1984. ISBN 9780852294178.
6. Camara, Mohamed Saliou (2005). His Master's Voice: Mass Communication and Single-party Politics in Guinea Under Sékou Touré. Africa World Press. pp. 121–. ISBN 978-1-59221-306-1.
7. "기술자 3명사망|북괴비행기 추락" [3 Technicians Killed | North Korean Plane Crashes]. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 6 July 1983. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
8. "AROUND THE WORLD; 23 Killed in Guinea Crash Of a North Korean Plane". The New York Times. UPI. 1983-07-06. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
9. Kihl, Young Whan (1 January 1984). "North Korea in 1983: Transforming "The Hermit Kingdom"?". Asian Survey. 24 (1): 100–111. doi:10.2307/2644170. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
10. Ryo, Hinata-Yamaguchi (31 December 2016). "North Korea's Transport Policies: Current Status and Problems". The Journal of International Relations. 19 (2): 67. doi:10.15235/jir.2016.12.19.2.67. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
11. "기니추락 北韓機(북한기) 기술자23명 死亡(사망)" [North Korean plane crashes in Guinea, 23 technicians killed]. The Dong-A Ilbo (in Korean). 6 July 1983. p. 2. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
12. "Korean plane crashes in Guinea". Kingston Gleaner. Kingston, Jamaica. Reuters. 5 July 1983. p. 2. Retrieved 26 January 2025 – via NewspaperArchive.
13. "北韓(북한)비행기 1臺(대) 기니서 추락" [North Korean plane crashes in Guinea] (in Korean). The Dong-A Ilbo. Agence France-Presse. 5 July 1983. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
14. "북한항공기 추락" [North Korean Airline Crash]. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 5 July 1983. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
15. "North Korean plane crashes in Africa". The Associated Press. Victorville, California: Daily Press. 5 July 1983. p. 3. Retrieved 25 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Memories of an African Student Forced to Study in North Korea During the 1980s". 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
17. "Все катастрофы Ил-62" [All Il-62 crashes]. Kommersant (in Russian). 24 October 2002. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
18. Kennedy, Charles (2016-06-16). "Air Koryo North Korea's Connection to the World". Airways Magazine. Archived from the original on 2018-08-13. Retrieved 2018-01-26.