On June 21, 2007, an overloaded Free Airlines Let L-410UVP (registration 9Q-CEU) in
Karibu Airways livery crashed shortly after takeoff from
Kamina Town (fr:''Kamina Ville'') for
Lubumbashi
Lubumbashi (former names: ( French), (Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katang ...
,
Democratic Republic of 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 ...
. Landing in a swamp east of the unpaved strip, the aircraft came to rest inverted in the water.
Background
Free Airlines and
Karibu Airways (also cited as the operator) were both on the
List of air carriers banned in the EU
The European Union (EU) publishes a list of air carriers that are banned from entering the airspace of any of its member states, usually for failing to meet EU regulatory oversight standards. The first version of the list was published in 2006, ...
. That list now bans "All air carriers certified by the authorities with responsibility for
regulatory oversight of Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC)".
The L-410UVP is only rated for a maximum of 17 passengers, but there were 21 people aboard, including three crew. The aircraft was previously registered as 5R-MGO by the now-defunct
Madagascar Flying Services. It was reported to have previously crashed in southern
Sudan in 2005.
Crash
There was one fatality, Mbuyu Mibanga, a deputy in the
National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At least 12 more were injured, including two Congolese doctors working for the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
and one Engineer working for Vodacom-Congo.,
Aftermath
After another crash occurred in August 2007, the licenses of Karibu Airways and pilot Isaac Besongo were subsequently suspended.
Crash à l'atterrissage d'un avion de Karibu Airways
''Crash-Arien'' (in French)
References
Further reading
''PPRuNe'' 2007-06-21, accessed 2009-12-03
Karibu Airways
''Aviation Safety Net'' re airline, accessed 2009-12-03
Kamina : un mort et 13 blessés, bilan du crash d’un petit porter
''Radio Okapi'' (in French) 2007-09-21, accessed 2009-12-03
Malemba Nkulu : réactions après le crash de l’avion de Karibu Airways
''Radio Okapi'' (in French) 2007-09-26, accessed 2009-12-03
{{DEFAULTSORT:2007 Free Airlines L-410 Crash
Free Airlines Let-410 crash
Accidents and incidents involving the Let L-410 Turbolet
Aviation accidents and incidents in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Free
Free Airlines L-410 crash