What: Hewa Bora Airways Boeing 727-100 en route from Kinshana N’Djili to Kisangani (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Where: Kisangani
When: Jul 8th 2011
Who: 112 passengers and 6 crew
Why: Attempting to land in heavy rain, limited visibility, thunderstorms in the area, the plane broke up on impact, and came to rest 984 feet from the runway. The plane struck a tree about 1000 meters short of runway 13.

53 survived the crash. Emergency services rescued 43. Two flight attendants were the only surviving crew.

85 died as a result of the crash. Prior to this posting, the number of reported dead grew from 46 to 68 to 85. *

The cause of the crash has been attributed to a mistake by a trainee air traffic controller but ATC service provider at Kisangani Airport, denies allegations of controller error.

Update: Hewa Bora’s license “has been suspended until further notice.”

The captain had a total experience of 7,000 hours with around 5,000 hours on the Boeing 727.

Survivors are in hospital care in various hospitals of Kisangani

*Current death toll is 85

The post Fatalities Rise in Congo Crash, ATC Trainee at Fault? first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Hewa Bora McDonnell Douglas MD-82 en route from Kinshasa N’Djili to Kisangani Democratic Republic of Congo to Goma
Where: Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire)
When: Jun 21 2010
Who: 101 aboard
Why: When a tire burst on takeoff, hydraulics and an engine were affected. The pilot had to return to the Kinshasa airport and dumped fuel next to the airport, but could not land well because of the damage. On landing, the plane veered off the runway but came to a stop safely in the rough off the runway. In fact, it is the condition of the runway that appears to have caused the problem–assuming the plane ran over a pothole or bump which caused the hydraulic problem and forced the left engine shutdown.

The post Banned List Carrier Hewa Bora Airways Averts Disaster first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.