On 26 March 1979, an Ilyuishin-18 crashed during takeoff from Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda, Angola, killing all ten people on board.

The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), which fought for the abolition of apartheid in Southern Rhodesia, also enjoyed the support of communist countries.

As TAAG Angola Airlines could not transport these deliveries, an Il-18 cargo aircraft from Interflug was chartered instead, which was supposed to carry a total of 500 tons of weapons.

[3] The crew consisted of captain Dieter Hartmann (44), first officer Jochen Wilsdorf (29), navigator Horst Umlauft (45), and flight engineer Frank-Rolf John (35).

The aircraft overran the end of the runway at high speed, collided with the instrument landing system antennas and burst into flames.