Search
  1. Home
  2. Southern Africa
  3. Angola

US plane vanishes in Angola

    JOHANNESBURG

    A private US surveillance airplane has been missing in Angola since 16 July, according to a report by Voice of America (VOA) on Friday. A spokesperson for the Florida-based firm Airscan was quoted by VOA as saying that one of its twin-engine Cessna 337s went missing on a night-time surveillance mission near Soyo, in the northwest. The two crew members are US-trained Angolan contract employees. Airscan has been providing security for the oil industry in Angola since 1993. It has provided similar services worldwide, including for the US military in the Balkans.

    On Saturday, the state news agency ANGOP quoted a communiqué from the Angolan army denying reports in the independent media that the plane had been shot down. The document said that the military in Soyo had been informed by Airscan on the same day that the aircraft went missing and they made available two helicopters. The reportedly started a search and rescue mission, but were withdrawn after four days after finding no sign of the missing plane.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join