Site Kamina Town Crew 3 Survivors 20 Date 21 June 2007 Injuries (nonfatal) 12 Location Kamina Airport | Passengers 18 Fatalities 1 Aircraft type Let L-410UVP Turbolet Number of deaths 1 Destination Lubumbashi | |
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Operators Free Airlines, Karibu Airways Similar 2007 Paramount Airlines M, Air West Flight 612, Philippine Airlines Flight 475, 2007 Balad aircraft crash, 2007 San Francisco Internatio | ||
On June 21, 2007 an overloaded Free Airlines Let L-410UVP (registration 9Q-CEU) in Karibu Airways livery crashed shortly after takeoff from Kamina Town (fr:Kamina Ville) for Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. Landing in a swamp east of the unpaved strip, the aircraft came to rest inverted with wheels and wings above the water.
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Background
Free Airlines and Karibu Airways (also cited as the operator) were both on the List of air carriers banned in the EU. That list now bans "All air carriers certified by the authorities with responsibility for regulatory oversight of Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC)".
The L-410UVP is only rated for a maximum of 17 passengers, but there were 21 people aboard, including three crew. The aircraft was previously registered as 5R-MGO by the now-defunct Madagascar Flying Services. It was reported to have previously crashed in southern Sudan in 2005.
Crash
There was one fatality, Mbuyu Mibanga, a deputy in the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At least 12 more were injured, including two Congolese doctors working for the World Health Organization.
Aftermath
After another crash occurred in August 2007, the licenses of Karibu Airways and pilot Isaac Besongo were subsequently suspended.