A Congolese cargo plane crashed near Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on December 20th.
The incident happened when the plane was returning to Kinshasa after delivering election materials to Tshikapa on behalf of the national electoral commission (CENI).
Seven crew members were killed in the crash.
Compagnie Africaine Aviation flight BU-2311 suffered a nose gear steering system failure at Mbuji Mayi Airport, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on April 16th.
The incident happened when the plane was backtracking to depart for Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The plane became disabled on the runway.
Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
A Serve Air Cargo plane made an emergency landing in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on September 10th.
The plane took off for Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, but had to turn back after an engine failure.
The plane veered off runway while landing back in Goma. All four crew members remained uninjured.
A cargo plane plowed into a residential area in Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of Congo, on December 24.
Authorities said the Airbus 310 plane, operated by the cargo company Services Air, overshot the runway due to rainy weather and near-zero visibility before hitting several houses.
At least seven people on the ground were killed in the accident. The plane was carrying four crew members at the time; all of them remained unhurt.
The accident is being investigated.
On a United Nations MONUSCO flight departing Lubumbashi for Kalemie/Goma, during takeoff, a propellor flew off the plane. THe plane veered off the runway, damaging the undercarrage on non-paved ground.
A Radio Okapi report said:
Un avion de la Monusco a raté son décollage ce lundi 29 juillet matin à l’aéroport de la Lwano à Lubumbashi. Tous les passagers et membres d’équipage sont sains et saufs.
Selon des sources aéronautiques de la Monusco, cette situation a été causée par une panne technique. Les hélices se sont détachées et le moteur endommagé. Cet appareil de type Antonov était encore immobilisé dans la soirée à 200 mètres de la piste.
A MONUSCO plane missed take-off Monday morning at July 29 at the Lubumbashi Lwano Airport. All passengers and crew are safe.
According to aviation sources MONUSCO, this situation was caused by a technical failure. The propellers and the engine were damaged. This Antonov plane is still stuck 200 meters from the runway.
On March 4th 2013, a CAA Compagnie Africaine d’Aviation Fokker 50 cargo flight en route from Lodja to Goma crashed in a residential area at Lake Kivu.
The incident occurred during bad weather under conditions with low visibility on approach to the runway. The crash impacted residences.
Six bodies were recovered and three survivors reported. The six bodies were reported to be the crew, and the survivors were the three passengers.
CAA is banned from flying within Europe.
What: Aero-Services for Trans Air Congo Ilyhushin IL-76T freighter en route from Pointe Noire to Brazzaville
Where: Brazzaville
When: Nov 30 2012
Who: 32 fatalities, 14 injured
Why: The Armenian crew fatalities of the crashed Trans Air Congo cargo jet have been named:
Varazdat Balasanyan, born in 1949 (captain of the crew)
Ara Tovmasyan,
Andranik Gevorgyan
Edgar Avetyan,
Tadeos Hovhannisyan
Two of the crew were not Armenian.
What: Aero-Services for Trans Air Congo Ilyhushin IL-76T freighter en route from Pointe Noire to Brazzaville
Where: Brazzaville
When: Nov 30 2012
Who: 30 fatalities, 14 injured *Death toll rises to 32
Why: A Trans Air Congo cargo jet landed in rainy conditions in Brazzaville, one report says the plane overran the runway, went through the airport fence, crossed a street and slammed by buildings into a ravine. It was reported that the brakes failed but the Congolese police said rainy weather was the cause. Another report says the landing failed and the pilot crashed when attempting to go-round.
The impact area is a residential area in the Mselou district of Brazzaville
The crew of the jet died in the crash as well as 19 on the ground, and fourteen injured were hospitalized at Makelekelele hospital, Center University Hospital and a military hospital.
Ownership of the plane has been reported all over the board:
1: Air Highnesses/Aero-Service leases the plane to Trans Air Congo. The plane was manned by an Armenian crew. Aero-Service is banned by the EU.
2: The Armenian company RIDGE AIRWAYS LLC, ARMENIA, RDG owns the plane, and it was flying for Aero-Service.
Metars reported
FCBB 301700Z 12007KT 050V170 4000 TSRA FEW010 BKN016 FEW026CB 24/22 Q1009 NOSIG
FCBB 301600Z 21013KT 6000 TS FEW010 BKN020 FEW030CB 30/23 Q1006 BECMG 06015G25KT 4000 TSRA
What: Mil Mi-2
Where: Mbouambe,Brazzaville, Congo
When: July 16, 2012
Who: 2 aboard, 2 fatalities
Why: A police Mi-2 helicopter crashed in the Congo. The two pilots, both Ukranian, were killed in the crash. The bodies of the pilots have been recovered and were sent to Brazzaville morgue. The Ukrainian Defense minister reported that the pilots were n ot part of a Ukrainian peacekeeping operation, but may have been employed by a Russian or Belarusian airline or employed by the UN.
What: Mil Mi-8
Where: Badondo north of Brazzaville, Congo
When: Nov 15, 2011
Who: 4 aboard, 1 fatality
Why: The military chopper which had been chartered by a mining company crashed during bad weather when it tried to land.
The pilot, Alexandre Kossiarev, was from Belarus and died in the crash.
Three passengers were injured.
What: Protocole Aviation Douglas DC-8 freight flight from Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville
Where: Brazzaville
When: Sep 12th 2011
Who: 4 crew
Why: En route transporting food from Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville in the Congo, the flight landed hard. A tire burst on landing, resulting in the plane going off the runway.
The landing gear was damaged.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Guido Potters
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
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Robert Matthews
What: United Nations – UN/Georgian Airways Canadair CL600 2B19 Regional Jet CRJ-100ER on the return trip from Kinshasa-N’Djili Airport (FIH) to Kisangani (FKI) and Entebbe (and back)
Where: Kinshasa-N’Djili Airport, Congo
When: 04 APR 2011 2 pm.
Who: 4 crew, 29 passengers
Why: On landing in Kinsasha, the United Nations plane encountered rainy weather and crashed at the end of the runway, breaking into several pieces. Witnesses say the plane encountered windshear at 65 feet and fell straight down. At least eight were thrown from the plane when it broke. There were 32 fatalities. There was one survivor. The crew was composed of Georgians.
The rain helped put out the fire, according to firefighters. The black box was recovered.
The lone survivor, Francis Mwamba, a Congolese journalist, was taken to Biamba Marie Mutombo hospital.
The plane was also reported as a Fokker.
Airzena Georgian Airways made this statement:
“Airzena Georgian Airways” regrets to confirm an accident occurred at Kinshasa airport, capital of Democratic Republic of Congo on 4 April, 10 at 13:00 GMT.The flight was operated under UN mission by aircraft of type CRJ-100 enroute from Goma to Kinshasa. The landing was performed in adverse weather conditions. The aircraft sufferred crash landing, broke up into parts and caught fire.
According to the currently available information crew and passengers died in the accident. The number is specified.
The accident is being investigated officially to determine its possible cause.
“Airzena Georgian Airways” is deeply shocked about the accident and expresses its condolences to the family members of the perished.
View Kinshasa Airport,congo in a larger map
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Robert Matthews
What: United Nations/Georgian Airways Canadair CL-600-2B19 Regional Jet CRJ-100ER en route from Kinshasa-N’Djili Airport (FIH) to Kisangani (FKI) and Entebbe (EBB), Uganda and back.
Where: Kinshasa-N’Djili Airport (FIH) Congo
When: 04 APR 2011 2 pm local time
Who: 29 passengers 3 crew
Why: On the final leg of the flight, the plane crashed in rainy weather. The pilot attempted a landing in heavy rain, and broke in two. There were some who initially survived who were taken to Biamba Marie Mutombo hospital in the town of Masina, which is fifteen minutes from the Kinshasa airport. Twenty UN workers were aboard. The plane ignited on contact.
One person survived the crash according to a UN Farhan Haq spokesman.
* A second source said the plane was a Fokker 834.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Alan LebedaWhat: Trans Air Congo Antonov AN-12 en route from Brazzaville to Pointe Noire
Where: between the Roy and Kitoko area in Mvou-Mvou, Pointe-Noire, Congo
When: Mar 21st 2011 3:30pm
Who: 19 killed, 14 injured.
Why: The crew attempted an emergency landing on the sea but failed. The attempted landing was less than successful although there are reports that the pilot managed to get out of the plane before it stopped.
They were over a residential area and had been cleared to land when the Antonov AN-12 struck the residential neighborhood Mvou-Mvou. After striking buildings, the plane caught fire.
Although the plane was not permitted to carry passengers, it appears that there were 5 passengers aboard in addition to the 4 Russian crew members. Twenty buildings were destroyed (burned and covered in debris), including residences and a school. The ICAO had reported the plane TN-AGK as not airworthy in 2006. (It is certainly not airworthy now.) The plane is a total loss.
While some news reports say that the number of injured were passengers, other reports say that there were 9 aboard, and that the rest of the injured and casualties were in Mvou-Mvou at the time of the crash. The weather conditions were said to be “good” at the time. There was apparently a technical problem which caused them to attempt to ditch in the ocean, (or a technical problem preventing them from landing in the ocean). The cause of the crash is unresolved. It is being investigated.
Trans Air Congo is based in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo.
Pictured: A Let 410 (not the one that crashed)
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Paul Kipping
What: African Air Services Commuter en route from Bukavu-Kavumu Airport to Lusenge Airfield
Where: Congo
When: Feb 14 2010
Who: 2 aboard, 2 fatalities
Why: A small African Air Service owned Let 410 cargo plane, registration 9Q-CIF, was damaged beyond repair in an accident at Mont Biega, D.R. Congo. Both crew members (Ukranian and Congolese) pilot and copilot were killed. The cargo that was aboard is unknown; rescue workers are forming an expedition to examine the scene, and recover the bodies and wreckage.
In case anyone is following this, the real reason behind the Aug 25th 2010 crash of the Filair LET L-410 en route from Kinshasa Ndolo to Bandundu Democratic Republic of Congo has been published. A passenger had secreted an alligator in his duffel bag, when the alligator got loose, everyone ran away from it, which unbalanced the plane which caused the crash. Of the 18 passengers and 3 crew, there were only 3 survivors (2 people plus the alligator.) One of the survivors later died; and someone killed the crocodile with a machete. I wonder if the lone survivor is the one who owned the duffel bag. Somehow I doubt it.
What: Filair Let 410 en route from Semendwa to Bandundu
Where: Bandundu Congo
When: August 25 2010
Who: 21 aboard (18 passengers 3 crew), 20 fatalities
Why: The preliminary information says that the plane was unable to land, and ran out of fuel. Landing short of the runway, the plane struck a building, killing two children inside.
The Let is a Czeck turboprop.
The Filair is based in Kinshasa. It’s fleet is reputed to be poorly maintained and is on the nofly list. The plane’s owner Danny Philemotte was piloting and died in the crash.
19 bodies were recovered and two survivors. One survivor died in the hospital. One survivor is hospitalized and in critical condition.
A survivor said that the crew had been told to land on a “reserve strip” beside the main runway. The passengers panicked, running to one side and unbalancing the plane, and the pilot lost control. Apparently fuel was not the issue (150 liters liters recovered from the crash.)
Pictured: A CAA – Compagnie Africaine d’Aviation Boeing 727-231/Adv(F/RE) Super 27, Goma (GOM / FZNA) Congo (Kinshasa)
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Guido Potters
What: Compagnie Africaine Aviation Boeing 727-200 en route from Kinshasa to Kananga Democratic Republic of Congo
Where: Kinshasa
When: Jan 2nd 2010
Who: flight crew
Why: After takeoff, the plane suffered a hydraulics problem and returned to Kinshasa’s Ndjili airport, where it landed in heavy rain and skid off the runway. The right wing was damaged.
What: CAA (Compagnie Africaine d’Aviation) en route from Kinshasa to Goma, Congo
Where: Goma
When: Thursday Nov 19 2009
Who: 117 passengers including the governor of North Kivu province
Why: On landing, the plane overshot the runway and landed in hardened lava surrounding an airport in eastern Congo.
20 people were injured.
What: Congo Republic (Aero Fret Business?) Antonov 12 cargo plane en route from Pointe Noire to Brazzaville
Where: SE of Brazzaville-Maya Maya Airport, in the cemetery of the village of Nganga Lingolo
When: Wed Aug 26, 2009
Who: Five 5 Ukrainian crew and one Congolese passenger
Why: Radio contact was lost at 3000 feet and the rear of the plane was on fire prior to impact with the ground. One report says “The airplane broke up in flight.”
Approaching the runway, the plane crashed in a cemetery.
What: Beechcraft plane owned by Air Serv which provides air transport for international aid agencies. The plane was being flown by South Africa’s Cem Air.
Where: eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Plane fragments scattered over a forested mountain area, 9 miles NW of the Bukavu air strip.
When: Inital reports that the crashed into a mountain near Bukavu were changed; apparently the plane broke up across the mountain. The plane was last contacted in heavy rain 10 minutes from Bukavu
Who: 15 passengers and two crew members. Most of the passengers were Canadian, Indian, French and Congolese aid and relief workers employed by Medicins Sans Frontieres and Handicap International. Seven aid workers were employed by the UN.
Why: The weather is considered a factor but no cause is listed as yet. UN rescue teams are “securing the site and searching for and recovering victims’ bodies.” No survivors. The black box flight recorder has been recovered
What: Beechcraft plane owned by Air Serv which provides air transport for international aid agencies. The plane was being flown by South Africa’s Cem Air.
Where: eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
When: crashed into a mountain near Bukavu. The plane was last contacted in heavy rain 10 minutes from Bukavu
Who: 15 passengers and two crew members. Most of the passengers were aid and relief workers.
Why: The weather is considered a factor but no cause is listed as yet. UN rescue teams are “securing the site and searching for and recovering victims’ bodies.” No survivors.
A Congolese domestic airliner taking off from Goma failed lift off, rammed through a fence and crashed into a crowded market district and burned. The Hewa Bora McDonnell Douglas DC-9 was taking off for the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, when it crashed into the teeming market district of Birere; the single-story shops and stalls of Birere were crowded at the time of the crash. An American missionary, Barry Mosier, was onboard with his wife and two children, and said the plane’s front tire blew out just before the DC-9 lifted off. When they saw flames, and smoke coming up through the floor, the passengers who were not trapped tried the side doors which did not open, so they exited thru the pilots cabin.
Pilots could not stop on the short runway which was partially blocked by volcanic lava from 2002. Residents heard a big explosion. A large plume of smoke rose from the crash site. A witness said, “Half of the plane has broken off, there is a fire towards the back. People are coming with buckets of water to put out the fire. The U.N. is here trying to keep back the crowds.â€
Crew members and U.N. troops managed to evacuate most of the 79 passenger on board, but there were 40 deaths and 110 injured–many of them locals. Not all bodies have been recovered.
Recovery of bodies was hindered by ground fires where there were additional casualties.
The Congo has one of the world’s worst air safety records. The Goma airport has been the site of several accidents, with planes overshooting the runway and endangering homes near the airport. According to the International Air Transport Association, the air accident rate in Africa is six times the average. Aviation safety experts single out Democratic Republic of Congo as one of the worst offenders. The huge country only has a few hundred miles of paved roads. The European Union added Congo’s Hewa Bora Airways to the banned list of aviation companies flying in the 27-nation block last week.
One of the survivors, Frederic Katemo, said that he scrambled out through the cockpit. “I was in my seat with my seat belt fastened. There was a big crash. We jumped up and found our way out. We could feel the fire behind us.â€
Initially, Governor of North Kivu province, Julien Paluku, said there were 79 passengers and six crew members but that “…six people have been saved, two pilots and four passengers including two children.â€
Serge Ukundji a local conservationist said, “We have been waiting for something like this to happen. There have been lots of accidents just behind here at the airport.â€
The cause of the accident was still under investigation. The overloaded cabin is believed to be the reason behind the crash.
