On 26 August 2007, an Antonov An-32B crashed at Kongolo Airport in Kongolo in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, killing 14 of the 15 people on board.

Accident

Loaded with nine tons of

cassiterite Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem. Cassiterite was the chief tin ore throughout ancient history and remains t ...

and other

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...

s and carrying 12 passengers and a crew of three, an Antonov An-32B operated by the

Great Lakes Business Company The Great Lakes Business Company is an airline owner/operator in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are on the List of air carriers banned in the European Union as well as a UN list of businesses targeted by sanctions in regard of the transp ...

took off from

Kongolo Airport Kongolo Airport is an airport serving the Lualaba River city of Kongolo, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Airlines and destinations Accidents and incidents After experiencing engine trouble about ten minutes after takeoff from Kongolo Air ...

for a domestic flight to Goma International Airport in

Goma Goma is the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the weste ...

on 26 August 2007. About ten minutes after takeoff, the aircraft experienced engine trouble, and the crew – composed of two

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

s and a Russian – attempted to return to Kongolo Airport. On approach to Kongolo Airport about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) short of the runway, the aircraft struck trees and crashed at about 16:00 local time. The wreckage caught fire. All three crew members and 11 of the 12 passengers died.

Aircraft

The aircraft was a twin-engine Antonov An-32B (

NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...

"Curl"), manufacturer's serial number 14-07. It had first flown in 1987 and was registered as ''9Q-CAC''.

References

External links

* Airliner accidents and incidents caused by engine failure Accidents and incidents involving the Antonov An-32 Aviation accidents and incidents in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Aviation accidents and incidents in 2007 {{Aviation-accident-stub