Air Rhodesia Flight 827

Air Rhodesia Flight 827
The aircraft involved, while still in service with Central African Airways in 1957
Shootdown
Date12 February 1979
SummaryShot down with a Strela 2 missile by ZIPRA guerrillas
Site
  • Vuti African Purchase Area
  • 16°25′S 29°26′E / 16.417°S 29.433°E / -16.417; 29.433
Aircraft
Aircraft typeVickers Viscount
Aircraft nameUmniati
OperatorAir Rhodesia
RegistrationVP-YND
Flight originSalisbury International Airport, Rhodesia
Last stopoverKariba, Rhodesia
DestinationSalisbury International Airport, Rhodesia
Passengers55
Crew4
Fatalities59
Survivors0

Air Rhodesia Flight 827, operated by Vickers Viscount VP-YND 'Umniati' was a scheduled civilian flight between Kariba and the capital, Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe), that was shot down soon after takeoff on 12 February 1979 by Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) guerrillas using a Strela 2 missile. The circumstances were very similar to the shooting down of Air Rhodesia Flight 825 five months earlier. As of 2025 this remained the deadliest aviation incident in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe.