View UTA Flight 772 Memorial in a larger map
Specific longitude and latitude coordinates on Google Maps will lead you to a location in the middle of the Sahara Desert. When you zoom in closer you’ll notice a black icon in the shape of an airplane. It’s not a map glitch or something planted by Google: It’s an actual memorial site that can be viewed by satellite.
On Sept. 19, 1989, UTA Flight 772 was scheduled to travel from the Republic of Congo to Paris, but a bomb destroyed the plane, resulting in parts of it landing in the Sahara Desert. The tragedy killed 170 passengers and crewmembers.
Almost 20 years later, Les Familles de l’Attentat du DC-10 d’UTA, an association dedicated to the victims of the flight, created a memorial that can be spotted by via satellite.
Debris from the plane lies within a 200-foot diameter circle formed by dark stones against the light-colored sand.
