On 13 September 1997, a German Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M observation aircraft and a United States Air Force Lockheed C-141B Starlifter transport aircraft struck each other mid-air while cruising at 35,000 feet (11,000 m) off the coast of Namibia. As a result of the crash, all 33 people on board both aircraft were killed and both aircraft were destroyed. At the time of the collision, the Tupolev was flying on a southbound route from Niamey, Niger, to Cape Town, South Africa, while the C-141 was heading northbound from Windhoek, Namibia, to Ascension Island.