"Uganda's Ministry of Transport have concluded their final report into the crash stating, that no definitive cause of the crash could be identified due to lack of vital parts like black boxes and crucial parts from the aircraft.
However, the commission states that according to aircraft documentation the aircraft had reached its end of life by 1998. There is no evidence that the aircraft underwent maintenance to extend its life despite claims by Aerolift, that such maintenace took place.
The commission went on to say that the airplane had returned to Entebbe in December 2008 already after two of its engines lost power shortly after takeoff. The two engines were replaced and the airplane departed Entebbe 13 days later but had another engine failure in Johannesburg (South Africa) in January 2009. The airplane continued to fly after another 9 days on the ground. According to documentation all 4 engines had exceeded their end of life, despite claims by Aerolift that the engines had been overhauled and were certified to operate no evidence of such overhaul work was found.
The commission further stated, that the 4 flight crew had little or no sleep the night before departure having been engaged in social activities the previous evening until late night before departing for the airport at 3am, the crew was likely to suffer from fatigue. The navigator of the ill-fated flight was not in possession of a valid license, he instead had a forged license that had originally been issued to another person.
According to ground witnesses both left hand engines were on fire as the aircraft climbed out of Entebbe."From:
http://www.avherald.com/h?article=41635921/0002&opt=0The sad end of an over-worked aircraft...Ilyushin Il-76 S9-SAB, the aircraft involved, is pictured below...
