2007 Free Airlines L-410 crash
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, Democratic Republic of Congo. Landing in a swamp east of the unpaved strip, the aircraft came to rest inverted in the water.[1]
 A Let L-410UVP Turbolet similar to the one involved in the incident. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 21 June 2007 |
| Summary | Overloading caused by pilot error |
| Site | Kamina Town |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Let L-410UVP Turbolet |
| Operator | Free Airlines and Karibu Airways |
| Registration | 9Q-CEU |
| Flight origin | Kamina Town |
| Destination | Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo |
| Passengers | 18 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 1 |
| Injuries | 12 |
| Survivors | 20 |
Background
Free Airlines and Karibu Airways (also cited as the operator) were both on the List of air carriers banned in the EU. That list now bans "All air carriers certified by the authorities with responsibility for regulatory oversight of Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC)".[2]
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.[3]
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 and one Engineer working for Vodacom-Congo.,[4]
Aftermath
After another crash occurred in August 2007, the licenses of Karibu Airways and pilot Isaac Besongo were subsequently suspended.[5][6][7]
References
- Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
- List of airlines banned within the EU Archived 2010-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, 2009-11-26, accessed 2009-12-03
- Aviation Safety Net (Misidentifies airport as Kamina Base)
- Reuters: DRC MP killed in plane crash Independent On Line 2007-06-22, accessed 2009-12-03
- Two DRC airlines grounded after fatal crashes, Mail and Guardian 2007-08-27 Archived 2012-08-13 at the Wayback Machine
- Retombées du crash de l’Antonov 32 à Kongolo : Le ministre des Transports suspend le directeur de l’Aéronautique civileDigital Congo (in French) 2007-08-29 Archived 2007-10-25 at the Wayback Machine
- Crash à l'atterrissage d'un avion de Karibu Airways Crash-Arien (in French)
Further reading
- LET 410 down in Kamina Town, DRC 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