 The aircraft involved in the crash pictured in 1990, then operated by Liberia World Airlines | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 4 July 2002 |
| Summary | Landing gear malfunction |
| Site | Guitangola, near Bangui Airport, Bangui, Central African Republic |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 707-123B |
| Operator | Prestige Airlines |
| Registration | 9XR-IS |
| Flight origin | N'Djamena Airport, N'Djamena, Chad |
| Destination | Maya-Maya Airport, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo |
| Passengers | 21 |
| Crew | 9 |
| Fatalities | 28 |
| Injuries | 2 |
| Survivors | 2 |
On 4 July 2002 a Boeing 707-123B operated by Prestige Airlines and owned by New Gomair, crashed during an emergency landing at Bangui Airport. 28 people on board were killed and two survived.[1] The flight was bound to Brazzaville, but the crew decided to divert to Bangui when the landing gear had not retracted.
Background
The international flight was carrying passengers and a load of onions and garlic from Chad to the Central African Republic. There were 17 Chadian passengers on board.[2] The Boeing belonged to a small airline New Gomair, owned by local businessmen, but was chartered by Prestige Airlines at the time of the accident.[2]
Crash
On final approach to Bangui, the aircraft descended until it contacted the ground. The crash occurred in clear weather at about 11:15 a.m. in the Guitangola neighborhood, two miles short of the Bangui Airport's runway.[3][4] The aircraft exploded upon touchdown, scattering wreckage and reportedly causing the roof of an empty house to collapse.[3]
The two survivors were engineer Laurent Tabako and a woman from Chad, both were admitted to a hospital.[2] According to Tabako, the engines stopped before landing and the crew may have dumped too much fuel before an emergency landing.[2] The witnesses reportedly did not hear the usual engine noise during the crash and saw no flames when the aircraft disintegrated.[2] The aircraft's flight recorder and voice recorder were recovered and an investigation was launched by the government of the Central African Republic.[2]
References
- ↑ Ranter, Harro. "Accident description". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "'Pilot error may have caused CAR plane crash'". Independent Online. July 7, 2002. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- 1 2 "Disabled Jet Crashes in Africa, Killing 23 as It Attempts to Land". The New York Times. Associated Press. 5 July 2002. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- ↑ "Many dead as plane crashes in Central Africa". The Irish Times. Agence France-Presse. 2002-07-04. Retrieved 2020-08-22.