On 24 January 1974, a Togo Air Force Douglas C-47 Skytrain carrying several notable political figures crashed at an isolated location near the village of Sarakawa in northern Togo. Gnassingbé Eyadéma, the President of Togo, was on board the aircraft, which was flying from Lomé to his native village, Pya. As the C-47 descended for landing, it crashed near Sarakawa.[1] Eyadéma survived, but his French pilot and all three other passengers died.[2]
Eyadéma claimed the aircraft had been sabotaged after he had reneged on an agreement with a French company over the use of a phosphate mine.[1] Eyadéma attributed his survival to mystical powers and declared 24 January to be "Economic Liberation Day."[1] Eyadéma even changed his first name from Étienne to Gnassingbé to remember the date of the day he survived the crash.[3]
Following the incident, a monument was established by the Togolese government near the crash site. The monument features a statue of Eyadéma standing on a plinth, flanked by images of his generals who died in the crash.[4]
Eyadéma was not the sole survivor of the crash,[5][6] but he deliberately misrepresented the details of the accident to make himself look like a hero with superhuman strength who miraculously survived the disaster when everyone else was killed.[7][8] Eyadéma claimed that the crash was not an accident but was a conspiracy to kill him, plotted by French imperialists who did not like his plan (announced on 10 January 1974) to nationalize the important phosphate mining company, the Compagnie Togolaise des Mines du Bénin (CTMB or Cotomib).[9][10] His C-47 was replaced by a new presidential jet, a Gulfstream II (registered as 5V-TAA) which was itself damaged beyond repair in a crash on 26 December of the same year, which killed three members of the crew, but which all three of the passengers on board survived.[11] Eyadéma was not on board the jet at the time.
ReferencesEdit
^ abcPacker, George (2001). The Village of Waiting. Macmillan. p. 104.
^Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations. 1984. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^"Photo and description of monument". 14 April 2004. from the original on 2017-05-01. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
^"Le Togo s'est recueilli pour la 35ème fois" (in French). Presidency of Togo. Archived from the original on April 18, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2012. Le Pasteur François Roux, l'un des rescapés du Crash, invité pour la circonstance, a fait un témoignage émouvant sur cet événement. [English: Pastor François Roux, one of the survivors of the Crash, invited for the occasion, gave a moving testimony on this event.]
^"Le Togo s'est remémoré Sarakawa 1974" [Togo remembered Sarakawa 1974] (in French). Présidence du Togo. Archived from the original on April 18, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2012. Le jeudi 24 janvier 1974, le DC-3 des Forces Armées Togolaises s'écrase à Sarakawa faisant 4 martyrs, des blessés parmi lesquels, feu Général Gnassingbé Eyadema. [English: On Thursday, January 24, 1974, the DC-3 of the Togolese Armed Forces crashed in Sarakawa causing 4 martyrs, injuries including the late General Gnassingbé Eyadema.]]
^Fare, Marthe (February 17, 2012). (in French). TV5MONDE. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2012. On le fait passer pour le seul survivant de l'accident, d'où le mythe de son invincibilité et l'expression «le miraculé» de Sarakawa. [English: He is passed off as the only survivor of the accident, hence the myth of his invincibility and the expression "the miraculous" of Sarakawa.]
^Occansey, Me Siméon Kwami (February 4, 2004). "Retour sur la fable de " L'attentat " de Sarakawa" [Return to the fable of "The attack" of Sarakawa] (in French). Union of Forces for Change. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
^Hagen, Morten; Spearing, Michelle (November 28, 2000). . Diastode. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
^"Les "Trois Glorieuses"" [The "Three Glorious"] (in French). Togolese Republic. January 23, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
1974, togo, presidential, crash, january, 1974, togo, force, douglas, skytrain, carrying, several, notable, political, figures, crashed, isolated, location, near, village, sarakawa, northern, togo, gnassingbé, eyadéma, president, togo, board, aircraft, which, . On 24 January 1974 a Togo Air Force Douglas C 47 Skytrain carrying several notable political figures crashed at an isolated location near the village of Sarakawa in northern Togo Gnassingbe Eyadema the President of Togo was on board the aircraft which was flying from Lome to his native village Pya As the C 47 descended for landing it crashed near Sarakawa 1 Eyadema survived but his French pilot and all three other passengers died 2 1974 Togo plane crashA C 47 similar to the accident aircraftAccidentDate24 January 1974SummaryCrashed on approach for undetermined reasonsSiteNear Sarakawa TogoAircraftAircraft typeDouglas C 47 SkytrainOperatorTogolese Air ForceRegistration5V MAGFlight originLome TogoDestinationPya TogoPassengers4Crew1Fatalities4Injuries1Survivors1Monument to the crashEyadema claimed the aircraft had been sabotaged after he had reneged on an agreement with a French company over the use of a phosphate mine 1 Eyadema attributed his survival to mystical powers and declared 24 January to be Economic Liberation Day 1 Eyadema even changed his first name from Etienne to Gnassingbe to remember the date of the day he survived the crash 3 Following the incident a monument was established by the Togolese government near the crash site The monument features a statue of Eyadema standing on a plinth flanked by images of his generals who died in the crash 4 Eyadema was not the sole survivor of the crash 5 6 but he deliberately misrepresented the details of the accident to make himself look like a hero with superhuman strength who miraculously survived the disaster when everyone else was killed 7 8 Eyadema claimed that the crash was not an accident but was a conspiracy to kill him plotted by French imperialists who did not like his plan announced on 10 January 1974 to nationalize the important phosphate mining company the Compagnie Togolaise des Mines du Benin CTMB or Cotomib 9 10 His C 47 was replaced by a new presidential jet a Gulfstream II registered as 5V TAA which was itself damaged beyond repair in a crash on 26 December of the same year which killed three members of the crew but which all three of the passengers on board survived 11 Eyadema was not on board the jet at the time References Edit a b c Packer George 2001 The Village of Waiting Macmillan p 104 Sundkler Bengt 2000 A History of the church in Africa Cambridge University Press p 938 Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations 1984 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a work ignored help Photo and description of monument 14 April 2004 Archived from the original on 2017 05 01 Retrieved 2009 07 30 Le Togo s est recueilli pour la 35eme fois in French Presidency of Togo Archived from the original on April 18 2013 Retrieved June 17 2012 Le Pasteur Francois Roux l un des rescapes du Crash invite pour la circonstance a fait un temoignage emouvant sur cet evenement English Pastor Francois Roux one of the survivors of the Crash invited for the occasion gave a moving testimony on this event Le Togo s est rememore Sarakawa 1974 Togo remembered Sarakawa 1974 in French Presidence du Togo Archived from the original on April 18 2013 Retrieved June 17 2012 Le jeudi 24 janvier 1974 le DC 3 des Forces Armees Togolaises s ecrase a Sarakawa faisant 4 martyrs des blesses parmi lesquels feu General Gnassingbe Eyadema English On Thursday January 24 1974 the DC 3 of the Togolese Armed Forces crashed in Sarakawa causing 4 martyrs injuries including the late General Gnassingbe Eyadema Fare Marthe February 17 2012 Togo F Gnassingbe s attaque a l heritage paternel in French TV5MONDE Archived from the original on February 19 2012 Retrieved June 17 2012 On le fait passer pour le seul survivant de l accident d ou le mythe de son invincibilite et l expression le miracule de Sarakawa English He is passed off as the only survivor of the accident hence the myth of his invincibility and the expression the miraculous of Sarakawa Occansey Me Simeon Kwami February 4 2004 Retour sur la fable de L attentat de Sarakawa Return to the fable of The attack of Sarakawa in French Union of Forces for Change Retrieved June 17 2012 Hagen Morten Spearing Michelle November 28 2000 Togo Stalled Democratic Transition Diastode Archived from the original on September 2 2012 Retrieved June 17 2012 Les Trois Glorieuses The Three Glorious in French Togolese Republic January 23 2011 Retrieved June 17 2012 Ranter Harro ASN Aircraft accident Gulfstream Aerospace G 1159 Gulfstream II 5V TAA Lome Airport LFW Aviation Safety Network Flight Safety Foundation Retrieved June 17 2012 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1974 Togo presidential C 47 crash amp oldid 1173199917, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
