Fatalities Rise in Congo Crash, ATC Trainee at Fault?
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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