Crash memorial. UTA Flight 772

Crash memorial. UTA Flight 772

/ November 4, 2013 / Leave a comment / Andrews Blog

01-Wreckage-of-UTA-Flight-772

The remarkable story of Flight UTA772 

Go to a certain latitude and longitude on Google Maps. notice a tiny icon that looks like an airplane. There’s a tragic and beautiful story behind it. Here it is, from start to finish.

UTA Flight 772 was a scheduled flight operating from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo to Paris CDG airport in France. With many French nationals on board.

On September 19th, 1989, UTA Flight 772 took off from N'Djamena International Airport. Only 46 minutes later, the plane crashed and all 170 people on board perished.
This is the flight path. UTA Flight 772 was a scheduled flight operating from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo to Paris CDG airport in France. The flight never made it. All on board perished.Eighteen years later, families of the victims gathered at the crash site to build a memorial.
 Because the location was so remote, pieces of the UTA Flight 772 wreckage could still be found (Photo 1).
Due to the remoteness of the location, pieces of the wreckage could still be found at the site.
Eighteen years later, the victims' families gathered at the crash site to build a memorial.
 The memorial was created by Les Familles de l’Attentat du DC-10 d’UTA, an association of the victims’ families along with the help of local inhabitants.
Because the location was so remote, pieces of the UTA Flight 772 wreckage could still be found (Photo 3).
The memorial was built mostly by hand and uses dark stones to create a 200-foot diameter circle
An association of the victims’ families, Les Familles de l’Attentat du DC-10 d’UTA, helped create the memorial along with the help of local inhabitants (Photo 1).
The Tenere region is one of the most inaccessible places on the planet. The stones were trucked to the site from over 70 kilometers away.
An association of the victims’ families, Les Familles de l’Attentat du DC-10 d’UTA, helped create the memorial along with the help of local inhabitants (Photo 2).
The memorial was built over the course of two months in May and June of 2007.
170 broken mirrors, representing each victim, were placed around the circumference of the memorial.
 The memorial was built mostly by hand and dark stones were used to create a circle that measured 200 feet in diameter.The memorial is anchored by the starboard wing of the aircraft which was trucked to the site from 10 miles away. Workers had to dig up the wing and empty it of sand.
 The Ténéré region of the Sahara Desert is one of the most inaccessible places on the planet.
The memorial was partly funded by the $170 million compensation package provided by the Libyan government.
The dark stones had to be trucked to the site from over 70 kilometers away (Photo 1).
The dark stones had to be trucked to the site from over 70 kilometers away (Photo 3).

The memorial was built over the course of two months in May and June of 2007 (Photo 2).

All 170 victims were represented with a broken mirror and all 170 mirrors were placed around the circumference of the memorial (Photo 1).

All 170 victims were represented with a broken mirror and all 170 mirrors were placed around the circumference of the memorial (Photo 2).

A special plaque commemorating each victim is affixed to the starboard wing (Photo 1).A special plaque commemorating each victim is affixed to the starboard wing (Photo 2).

With the aid of trucks, the wing was erected upright.

The completed memorial.

With all the victims' names visible, it is the centerpiece of the memorial (Photo 1).
The UTA Flight 772 memorial was partly funded by the $170 million compensation package provided by the Libyan government (Photo 1).
 The UTA Flight 772 memorial was partly funded by the $170 million compensation package provided by the Libyan government (Photo 4).
A view of the completed memorial (Photo 1).
A view of the completed memorial (Photo 3).
A view of the completed memorial (Photo 4).
The memorial can be seen from Google Earth and Google Maps.
The memorial can still be seen from Google Earth.

Over the years, the sand has accumulated over some portions of the memorial but the UTA Flight 772 Memorial is still visible on Google Maps.

Six Libyans were ultimately convicted of this terrorist attack. They used a suitcase bomb to blow up the plane, which resulted in 156 passengers and 14 crew members meeting their demise. Even in the face of this tragedy, the families constructed this beautiful memorial to never forget what happened. They will live on in their hearts, in the desert, and even on Google Earth forever.
UTA Flight 772 Wikipedia Page

 

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