On 25 August 2010, a Let L-410 Turbolet passenger aircraft of Filair crashed on approach to Bandundu Airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing all but one of the 21 people on board.
 The Let L-410 crash site | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 25 August 2010 |
| Summary | Loss of control for undetermined reasons (possibly a crocodile entering cabin during final approach, leading to sudden center of gravity shift) |
| Site | Near Bandundu Airport, Bandundu, Democratic Republic of the Congo 3°18′40″S 17°22′24″E / 3.31111°S 17.37333°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Let L-410UVP-E20C |
| Operator | Filair |
| Registration | 9Q-CCN |
| Flight origin | N'Dolo Airport, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| 1st stopover | Basango Mboliasa Airport, Kiri, DRC |
| 2nd stopover | Bokoro Airport, Bokoro, DRC |
| 3rd stopover | Semendua Airport Semendwa, DRC |
| 4th stopover | Bandundu Airport, Bandundu, DRC |
| Destination | N'Dolo Airport, Kinshasa, DRC |
| Occupants | 21 |
| Passengers | 18 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 20 |
| Injuries | 1 |
| Survivors | 1 |
From a statement by the sole survivor, the accident was possibly the result of the occupants rushing to the front of the aircraft to escape from a crocodile smuggled on board by one of the passengers. The move compromised the aircraft's balance to the point that control of the aircraft was lost. Although some sources doubt this claim.
Background
editThe aircraft was operating a round-robin domestic flight from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, stopping at Kiri, Bokoro, Semendwa and Bandundu. At 13:00 local time (12:00 UTC). The flight was piloted by 62-year-old Belgian Danny Philemotte, who was also the owner of Filair, and his first officer, 39-year-old Briton Chris Wilson.[1] The crew also consisted of a single flight attendant.[2] All perished in the accident.
Accident
editWhile on final approach to Bandundu Airport, the aircraft crashed into a house approximately 1 kilometer (0.6 mi) short of the runway. According to most sources, no one was injured on the ground, but 19 people were killed instantaneously, with two survivors being taken to hospital, one of whom later died from their injuries.[3] Of the 21 people on board, only one, a passenger, survived.[4][5] Most of the dead were Congolese.[6]
Aircraft
edit
The aircraft was a 1991-built Let L-410 Turbolet, with Congolese registration 9Q-CCN, construction number 912608.[7] It normally carries up to 19 passengers.[6] The aircraft involved was previously registered ES-LLB, and was operated by Airest, an Estonian airline, until 2007. It was stored until Filair bought it in 2009.[8]
Investigation
editThe Congolese Ministry of Transport opened an investigation into the accident.[4] There was no post-impact fire, a circumstance that led to initial speculation that the aircraft may have suffered fuel exhaustion.[9] However, the aircraft was later determined to have 150 litres of fuel remaining in its fuel tanks.[10]
The only survivor of the crash stated to the investigators that a crocodile smuggled in a duffel bag by one of the passengers had escaped shortly before landing, sparking panic among the passengers. The flight attendant rushed towards the cockpit, followed by all passengers, and the resulting shift in the aircraft's centre of gravity led to an irrecoverable loss of control. The crocodile reportedly survived the crash, only to be killed with a machete by authorities.[11]
An Air Accidents Investigation Branch investigator stated that the claim was "extremely unlikely" but that they "wouldn't rule it out completely".[12] They later stated that they were unable to draw any definitive conclusions due to not being in possession of the flight recorder data.[13] The inquest into the death of the British first officer resulted in an open verdict, with the coroner stating that issues with obtaining black box data, and witness unreliability had only led to "vague guesses" and that further information wasn't able to be obtained.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "British Pilot Died When Crocodile On Plane Caused Congo Crash". International Business Times. 12 July 2014.
- ^ "Crocodile blamed for Congo air crash". NBC News. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- ^ "20 killed in DRC plane crash". Capital News. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- ^ a b "DR Congo plane crash in Bandundu 'kills 20'". BBC News. 25 August 2010. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
- ^ "Dix-neuf morts dans un accident d'avion dans l'ouest de la RDC" [Nineteen dead in a plane crash in western DRC] (in French). Le Soir. 25 August 2010. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
- ^ a b "DR Congo air crash 'kills many'". Al Jazeera English. 25 August 2010. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Let L-410UVP-E20C 9Q-CCN Bandundu Airport". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
- ^ "News from the World of L410". Planes.cz. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
- ^ "Plane crashes in DRCongo, 20 dead: deputy governor". Agence France-Presse. 25 August 2010. Archived from the original on 29 August 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ "Crash de Bandundu ville, la version de Fil Air". Radio Okapi (in French). 27 August 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
- ^ "Aircraft crashes after crocodile on board escapes and sparks panic". The Telegraph. 21 October 2010. Archived from the original on 22 October 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- ^ "Escaped crocodile may have caused Congo plane crash". The Guardian. 22 October 2010. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
- ^ "Croc On A Plane: Reptile 'May Have Caused Crash'". Sky News. 12 July 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
