2013 Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation Fokker 50 crash

On 4 March 2013, a Fokker 50 operated by Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation on a domestic cargo flight from Lodja to Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, crashed in poor weather on approach to Goma Airport. There were nine people on board, of which six were killed. No fatalities were reported on the ground, despite the aircraft crashing into a populated area.

2013 Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation Fokker 50 crash

MONUSCO troops guarding the crash site in Goma
Accident
Date	4 March 2013 (2013-03-04)
Summary	Crashed during approach due to poor weather
Site	Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1°41′S 29°14′E
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Fokker 50
Operator	Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation
Registration	9Q-CBD
Flight origin	Lodja Airport, Lodja, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Destination	Goma International Airport, Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Occupants	9
Passengers	4
Crew	5
Fatalities	6
Injuries	3
Survivors	3

Accident

The aircraft was two minutes from touching down at Goma airport on a cargo service from Lodja Airport,[1] 640 kilometres (400 mi) west of Goma.[2] At 17:55 local time,[1] the aircraft crashed in an empty lot in the middle of the city.[2] No distress calls were made prior to the crash.[3]

There were nine people on board the aircraft, including six airline employees—a crew of five and a security guard—and three passengers.[4] All six employees were killed in the accident.[3] Except for the pilot, a 46-year-old Russian national named Alexander Bazhenov, the dead were all from the Congo.[4] The Russian consul to the Democratic Republic of the Congo confirmed that a Russian national was on board.[5][2][4][6]

Aircraft

The aircraft involved in the accident, photographed in 2006 still in the KLM Cityhopper livery

The aircraft involved in the accident was a twin-turboprop Fokker 50, powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW125B engines; it first flew in 1992 with registration PH-LXJ. Having serial number 20270, it was delivered to AirUK in 1994 and re-registered G-UKTE. This registration was kept following the rebranding of Air UK to KLM uk in 1998. KLM Cityhopper re-registered the aircraft as PH-LXJ in 2003, and returned it to the lessor in 2010. In March of the same year, it was re-registered 9Q-CBD and delivered to Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation. The aircraft was 20 years old at the time of the accident.[7]

Aftermath

Following the crash,[8] the Ministry of Transport of the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced a re-certification of all airlines having an operator's certificate issued in the country[9] that were subject to a ban in the European Union.[10]

See also

• List of airlines banned in the EU
• Transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

References

1. Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 5 March 2013.
2. Kavanagh, Michael J. (4 March 2013). "Congolese Plane Crashes During Landing at Goma Airport". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 March 2013.
3. Kavanagh, Michael J. (5 March 2013). "Congolese Plane Crash in Goma Killed Six People, Minister Says". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 5 March 2013.
4. "Plane crash in eastern DR Congo kills 6, injures 3". WireUpdate. BNO News. 6 March 2013. Archived from the original on 6 March 2013.
5. "Seis muertos en accidente aéreo en el Congo, según el último balance" [Six dead in the Congo crash, according to last figures] (in Spanish). RIA Novosti. 5 March 2013. Archived from the original on 5 March 2013.
6. Waldron, Greg (5 March 2013). "CAA Fokker 50 crashes in eastern Congo: reports". Singapore: FlightGlobal. Archived from the original on 5 March 2013.
7. "Fokker 50 – MSN 20270 – 9Q-CBD Airline Compagnie Africaine Aviation". Airfleets.net.
8. "Le gouvernement annonce la récertification des compagnies aériennes d'ici fin mars" [The government announces the re-certification of all the airlines for the end of March] (in French). ANGOP. Xinhua. 6 March 2013. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
9. "Crash en RDC : 7 morts, re-certification en vue" [Crash in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: seven dead and re-certification on course] (in French). Air Journal. 6 March 2013. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013.
10. "List of airlines banned within the EU" (PDF). European Commission. 4 December 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2012.

External links