• Home
  • /
  • Articles
  • /
  • News
  • /
  • Suicide the likely cause of the LAM Mozambique airlines crash

Suicide the likely cause of the LAM Mozambique airlines crash

Geoffrey Thomas

By Geoffrey Thomas Sun Dec 22, 2013

According to the Aviation Herald it appears the captain of  LAM Mozambique Airlines flight 470 deliberately crashed the  aircraft into the Bwabwata National Park killing all 28 passengers and 6 crew on board.

The aircraft was operating flight TM 470 from Maputo International Airport to Luanda, the Angolan capital on Friday November 29th.  The aircraft, a 90-passenger ERJ190 took off at 11:26am Friday, November 29 and was due to arrive at 1410.

Whilst the preliminary report has not yet been released Aviation Herald reports the following:

On Dec 21st 2013 Mozambique's Civil Aviation Authority reported in a press conference that the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder revealed that the captain was alone on the flight deck at the time of the acident. Banging on the flight deck door could be heard on the cockpit voice recorder. The autoflight systems (autothrottle and autopilot) were engaged. There were sounds and clicks consistent with a person knowledgeable of the aircraft systems commanding the engines to idle thrust and selecting the autoflight systems into a descent at 6000 feet per minute. Numerous warnings and alerts were not responded to.

LAM carried a four-star safety rating from AirlineRatings.com but were downgraded to three immediately after the accident

Have questions or want to share your thoughts?

Comments

No comments yet, be the first to write one.

Latest news and reviews

View more
US aviation safety under scrutiny – what the data really shows
Airline News

US aviation safety under scrutiny – what the data really shows

Apr 2, 2026

Josh Wood
Delta A330 engine fire forces emergency landing
Airline News

Delta A330 engine fire forces emergency landing

Mar 31, 2026

Sharon Petersen
London to New York: how BA, Virgin, JetBlue, United, Delta, and Norse compare
Airline News

London to New York: how BA, Virgin, JetBlue, United, Delta, and Norse compare

Mar 30, 2026

Josh Wood
India opens its latest airport amid growing passenger demand: Noida International Airport
Airline News

India opens its latest airport amid growing passenger demand: Noida International Airport

Mar 30, 2026

Dev Lunawat

Featured articles

View more
Delta A330 engine fire forces emergency landing
Airline News

Delta A330 engine fire forces emergency landing

Mar 31, 2026

Sharon Petersen
Why Air Europa's economy product should not be forgotten
Airline Ratings review

Why Air Europa's economy product should not be forgotten

Mar 25, 2026

Josh Wood
US aviation safety under scrutiny – what the data really shows
Airline News

US aviation safety under scrutiny – what the data really shows

Apr 2, 2026

Josh Wood
World's Best Airlines for 2026 by Airline Ratings
Airline News

World's Best Airlines for 2026 by Airline Ratings

Mar 18, 2026

Airline Ratings