Another African Y-12 crash

Following a Kenya Air Force Harbin Y-12 crash on 12 January 2021 (See Scramble News 13 January 2021), another African Y-12 most probably ended it service life. A Zambian Air Force (ZAF) Y-12 crashed at Kasempa air field on 26 January 2021.

Kasempa is known to be a tricky air field to land or take-off from because of the surrounding hills and treacherous winds. Contrary to the Kenya crash, in Zambia all accupants survided the incident. The pilots as well as the passengers were injured and were rushed to a nearby hospital. The cause of the crash is not known yet.

The Zambian Y-12s are based at ZAF Lusaka with No.22 Squadron. The squadron operates both Y-12-II and Y-12-IV. The crashed Y-12 was serial AF-222 and belongs to the latter type. Zambia purchased ten Y-12s from China from March 1994 onwards. Through the years, the ZAF lost already two Y-12-IIs, one on 16 October 2010 (AF-215) and one on 18 May 2005 (AF-216). The seven remaining Y-12s will soldier on.

Photo by Zambian Watchdog