Boende – Kinshasa

On November 29, 2003 at 03:16 PM, Boende – Kinshasa experienced a crash involving Antonov AN-26, operated by Congolese Air Force - Force Aérienne de la République Démocratique du Congo, with the event recorded near Boende Tshuapa.

The flight was categorized as military and the reported phase was takeoff (climb) at a city crash site.

24 people were known to be on board, 33 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 137.5%.

Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 6, passengers on board: 18, passenger fatalities: 14, other fatalities: 13.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. The aircraft was completing a flight from Boende to Kinshasa, carrying 18 passengers, six crew members and a load of 672 kilos of various goods. During the takeoff roll, the captain decided to abandon the procedure and returned to the parking. A second attempt to takeoff was initiated few minutes later. During the takeoff run, at high speed, a tyre burst. The captain rejected takeoff but the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance (the runway is 1,400 metres long). It overran, struck a fence and eventually crashed in a local market. All six crew members and 14 passengers were killed as well as 13 people on the ground. Four passengers and six people on the ground suffered injuries of various degrees.

Aircraft reference details include registration 9T-TAD.