Aero-Service
Encyclopedia
Société Aéro-Service Afrigo is an airline
headquartered in Pointe-Noire
, Republic of the Congo
. It operates chartered cargo and business passenger flights within Congo and to neighbouring countries out of its base at Pointe-Noire Airport.
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
headquartered in Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire
Pointe-Noire is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department since 2004. Before this date it was the capital of the Kouilou region . It is situated on a headland between Pointe-Noire Bay and the Atlantic Ocean...
, Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
. It operates chartered cargo and business passenger flights within Congo and to neighbouring countries out of its base at Pointe-Noire Airport.
History
The airline was established and started operations in 1967 as an air freight transport department of a frozen food company. It later became an independent airline and today is wholly owned by the TAG Light Aviation Department. Since 16 November 2009, Aéro-Service is banned from entering the European Union, along with all other airlines registered in the Republic of the Congo.Fleet
As of May 2011, the Aéro-Service fleet consists of the following aircraft:| Aircraft | In Service |
|---|---|
| Britten-Norman Islander Britten-Norman Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a 1960s British light utility aircraft, regional airliner and cargo aircraft designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial aircraft types produced in Europe. Although designed in... |
2 |
| CASA C-212 Aviocar | 2 |
| Yakovlev Yak-40 Yakovlev Yak-40 The Yakovlev Yak-40 is a small, three-engined airliner that is often called the first regional jet transport aircraft... |
1 |
| Total | 5 |
Accidents and incidents
- In June 1981, an Aéro-Service Britten-Norman IslanderBritten-Norman IslanderThe Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a 1960s British light utility aircraft, regional airliner and cargo aircraft designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial aircraft types produced in Europe. Although designed in...
(registeredAircraft registrationAn aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
TN-ADS) suffered a crash landing an was subsequently written off. - On 11 March 1994, an Aéro-Service Swearingen MerlinSwearingen MerlinThe Swearingen Merlin or the Fairchild Aerospace Merlin is a pressurised, twin turboprop business aircraft first produced by Swearingen Aircraft, and later by Fairchild at a plant in San Antonio, Texas.-Design and development:...
(registered TN-ADP) was damaged beyond repair in a crash landing at Pointe Noire AirportPointe Noire AirportAntonio Agostinho Neto International Airport , is an airport located in Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo. It is one of two international airports in the country, the other being Brazzaville Maya-Maya Airport.-History:...
, following a chartered flight from Port-GentilPort-GentilPort-Gentil or Mandji is the second-largest city of Gabon and a leading seaport. It is the center of Gabon's petroleum and timber industries. Although it lies inshore, the nearby mainland is a remote forest area and it is not connected by road to the rest of the nation...
with 4 passengers and 2 crew members onboard. Upon landing approach, the landing gear failed to deploy, and the pilots did not manage to execute a go-aroundGo-aroundA go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach.- Origin of the term :The term arises from the traditional use of traffic patterns at airfields. A landing aircraft will first join the circuit pattern and prepare for landing in an orderly fashion...
, but belly-landed on the runway. - On 23 December 2005, an Aéro-Service Antonov An-24Antonov An-24The Antonov An-24 is a 44-seat twin turboprop transport designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union by the Antonov Design Bureau from 1957.-Design and development:...
(registered ER-AZX), which was leased from Pecotox AirPecotox AirPecotox Air was an airline based in Chişinău, Moldova. It started operations in November 2001 and operated charter services. Its main base was Chişinău International Airport.....
, was substantially damaged when it ran off the runway upon landing. - On 25 January 2008, an Aéro-Service Antonov An-12BPAntonov An-12The Antonov An-12 is a four-engined turboprop transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10.-Design and development:...
(registered EK-11660) suffered a brake failure whilst taxiing at Pointe Noire Airport, so that it ran into a parked Boeing 727-247Boeing 727The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
(9L-LEF). Both aircraft were damaged beyond economic repair. - On 19 June 2010 at ca 10:00 local time, an Aéro-Service CASA C-212 Aviocar (registered TN-AFA) crashed2010 Cameroon Aero Service CASA C-212 Aviocar crashOn 19 June 2010, an CASA C-212 Aviocar crashed on a flight from Yaoundé, Cameroon to Yangadou, Republic of the Congo, killing all 11 people on board, including the entire board of Sundance Resources, an Australian mining conglomerate.-Aircraft:...
near DjoumDjoum- Maps :* ....
, CameroonCameroonCameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, killing all nine passengers and the two crew members on board. So far, this has been the only reported fatal accident of the airline's history.