Flight Safety Information August 25, 2010 - No. 174 In This Issue ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DR Congo plane crash in Bandundu 'kills 19' A plane has crashed in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing 19 people, officials say. Two people survived the crash, the police chief in Bandundu province told AP news agency. A UN spokesman told Reuters the plane had crashed into a house near Bandundu town's airstrip. DR Congo, the size of western Europe and with few roads after decades of civil war, has one of the world's worst air safety records. UN spokesman Madnodje Mounoubai said a number of people on board and on the ground had been killed. Police chief Col Joli Limengo said 19 bodies had been recovered from the crash site. The deputy governor of Bandundu province, Vicky Mboso Muteba, told AFP news agency the plane had apparently run out of fuel after being unable to land. According to AP, the plane was operated by the local carrier Filair and was en route to Bandundu from the centre of the country. It was then due to continue to the capital, Kinshasa. Most of DR Congo's air companies, which mainly use ageing aircraft, are banned from operating in Europe. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11087817 Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At Least 19 Dead After Congo Plane Crash Two people have survived a plane crash which has left at least 19 people dead in western Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a local governor. The plane, from the capital Kinshasa, crashed after it was unable to land at an airport in Bandundu city and apparently ran out of fuel, said the deputy governor of Bandundu. Vicky Mboso Muteba said two passengers had miraculously survived the accident. "They have brought out the people, we have 19 bodies in the morgue and two survivors," he said. "Subject to expert opinion ... the presumed cause could be a lack of fuel." The United Nations confirmed the crash, saying the light aircraft crash had killed people on the ground as well as passengers. "The plane crashed on a house, killing some people. We don't have figures yet," said Madnodje Mounoubai, a spokesman for the UN mission in Congo. An official in the prime minister's office, offered differing figures to those reported locally, saying 20 people had died and a lone survivor was fighting for his life. The Let-410 aircraft, which normally carries up to 19 passengers, was operated by Congo airline Filair. Congo's aviation sector, which is littered with ageing Soviet-era planes, is generally viewed as being in a chronic state of disrepair and crashes are frequent. But, due to decades of war and corrupt rule, both roads and raiways are in a state of disrepair, forcing the country's deeply impoverished people to rely on ill-maintained planes and boats to move around. The European Commission of Transport has banned all Congolese carriers from entering European airspace due to concerns for passengers' safety. More than 250 airlines are blacklisted by the European Commission, many based in Africa. Zambia, Swaziland and Sudan are among the many African nations who have had most of their flight companies barred. Airlines from the Philippines, Indonesia and even Bangladesh and Iran feature prominently on the list. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC