1998 Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727 Crash
On 10 October 1998, a Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727 flying a non-scheduled domestic passenger flight from Kindu to Kinshasa was shot down by rebel forces shortly after taking off. All 41 occupants on board the aircraft were killed.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was a Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727-30, registration 9Q-CSG, that had its maiden flight on 10 March 1965.
Description of the event
The Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727-30 took off from Kindu Airport (KND/FZOA) on a domestic non-scheduled passenger flight to N'djili Airport in Kinshasa with 38 passengers and 3 crew on board. Only 3 minutes into the flight, the rear of the aircraft was struck by a Russian-made shoulder-fired Strela 2 surface-to-air missile launched by rebel forces during the Second Congo War. The captain attempted an emergency landing, but the 727 crashed into a dense jungle near Kindu. All 41 people on board died.
References
- ^ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 18 June 2012.
- ^ "Airline safety review – Fatal events: hostile action or unlawful Interference with aircraft safety". Flight International: 28. 13–19 January 1999. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ "CRASH OF A BOEING 727-30 NEAR KINDU: 41 KILLED". Bureau of Accidents Archives. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
- ^ "Insurgents in Congo Shoot Down an Airliner Carrying 40 People". The New York Times. 11 October 1998. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
- ^ "No survivors in airliner shot down by DRC rebels". Mail & Guardian. 11 October 1998. Retrieved 10 September 2022.