Passengers sucked from plane
The week's news at a glance.
Kinshasa, Congo
More than 100 Congolese soldiers and family members were sucked out of an airplane to their deaths last week when the rear door fell off in flight. The soldiers and their families were being transported from the capital, Kinshasa, to a military base in the south in a Soviet-era Ilyushin-76 cargo plane. “Thirty-five minutes after takeoff, we heard a loud noise inside the plane like hissing, and then the ramp fell off,” one survivor said. “Only the people who had the reflex to grab ropes on the walls were able to stay inside.” The Ilyushin-76, built in 1971, is a rickety craft now used mostly in Africa. It has an appalling record of 45 deadly crashes.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
‘Congratulations on your house, but maybe try a greyhound instead’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How climate change poses a national security threatThe explainer A global problem causing more global problems
-
The 5 best TV shows about the mobThe Week Recommends From the show that launched TV’s golden age to a Batman spin-off, viewers can’t get enough of these magnificent mobsters