2015 Services Air Airbus A310 crash

6°08′00″S 23°34′24″E / 6.1334°S 23.5734°E / -6.1334; 23.5734Total fatalities8Total injuries9AircraftAircraft typeAirbus A310-304FAircraft nameSaraswatiOperatorServices AirRegistration9Q-CVHFlight originLubumbashi International Airport, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of CongoDestinationMbuji-Mayi Airport, Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of CongoOccupants5Crew5Fatalities0Injuries0Survivors5Ground casualtiesGround fatalities8Ground injuries9

On 24 December 2015, at 08:35, an Airbus A310-304F cargo aircraft, operated by Congolese company Services Air on a domestic flight, ran off the end of the runway and crashed in a residential area while landing at Mbuji-Mayi Airport in the city of Mbuji-Mayi, the capital of Kasai-Oriental province in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Eight people were killed and nine others were injured, all of whom were people in the residential area. The aircraft suffered substantial damage, but the five crew members were uninjured. The aircraft overshot the runway by about 500 m (1,640 ft) and ploughed into the residential area, destroying several homes.^[1]

Accident

The pilot informed Ngoyi Kasanji, governor of Kasai-Oriental province, that a brake problem on the aircraft was the cause of the accident. According to witnesses the aircraft had already gone around twice and on the third landing attempt it touched down about halfway along the runway and was unable to stop before rolling off the end. The A310 came to a stop on soft ground among houses about 500 m (1,640 ft) past the runway end.^[2]

References