It was a matter of minutes after take-off that the plane lost power and plummeted into the sea, exploding on impact and instantly killing everyone on board.
A Zambian air force DHC-Buffalo transporter had stopped at Libreville in Gabon to refuel. It was carrying the country’s national team to Dakar for a key World Cup qualifier against Senegal. Eighteen players, two coaches, three support staff and five air force crew all died on April 27,1993, and three decades on it remains a jarring tragedy with key questions still to be answered.
Why did Zambian authorities allow their team to fly on a plane that had been out of service for months and found to have several defects when tested just days before being used to transport the team? Was the pilot suffering from fatigue, having flown the team the previous day from another qualifier
