What happened
On the morning of the accident, an aircraft departed from Libreville-Loch Mba Airport at 09:11 local time. The flight was scheduled to travel to Franceville, with a planned intermediate stop at Port Gentil. At the time of departure, the aircraft was carrying 26 passengers and four crew members.
Shortly after the takeoff phase, the flight crew notified Air Traffic Control regarding a technical issue. Following this communication, the aircraft was authorized to perform a return to the departure airport. During the attempted return, the aircraft passed over the runway and subsequently impacted the ocean approximately 100 meters from the shoreline.
Search and rescue operations following the crash resulted in the recovery of 11 individuals. However, the accident resulted in 19 fatalities, which included one member of the crew.
Findings
At the time of the accident, weather conditions were reported as excellent. The sequence of events indicates that the aircraft was experiencing a technical problem during the initial climb.