Herman de Wulf/BRUSSELS
David Learmount/LONDON
IN ONE OF THE worst third-party aviation accidents in history, a freighter aircraft taking off from Ndolo Airport, Kinshasa, Zaire, on 8 January crashed immediately after take-off, killing about 250 people in the Simbazikita marketplace just beyond the airfield boundary.
The Antonov An-32 twin-engine turboprop, had been wet-leased by Zairean carrier Scibe Airlift, from Russian company Moscow Airways.
The Russian crew of four and two others on board survived, although, two of the crew were injured.
Moscow Airways aircraft are banned from flying in Russia because, for the second time since September 1995, its air operator's certificate has been withdrawn by the Russian Department of Air Transport for substandard operation. The aircraft's airworthiness certificate is also believed to have expired. The Russian authorities are said to be seeking extradition of the crew to stand trial.
The aircraft is alleged to have been in operation on an illegal flight carrying cargo to UNITA rebels in Angola. Zairean authorities claim that the aircraft was overloaded.
Ndolo, in the northeast of Zaire's capital, was once Kinshasa's main airport, but it is now used for domestic flights only. It is customary for aircraft taking off to use the reciprocal of the westerly runway used by the An-32, because (for safety reasons) an easterly take-off allows aircraft to follow the Zaire River.
The Red Cross said on 10 January, that there were 217 known deaths and 32 seriously injured, but that the damage to the market area, was so bad that the ultimate death toll could be much higher.
Source: Flight International
