What happened
During the final approach phase toward M'Banza Kongo Airport, an aircraft experienced a sequence of ground impacts prior to reaching the runway threshold. The aircraft initially made contact with the terrain approximately 3,200 metres before the start of the runway. Following this initial impact, the plane regained a small amount of altitude before descending again and striking the ground a second time, located just two metres short of the runway.
During the second impact, the left main landing gear collided with a drainage ditch, causing the gear to be detached from the airframe. As the aircraft continued to slide along the ground, it veered toward the right side of its path, where the right wing made contact with a bus. The accident resulted in seven fatalities among the occupants of the bus, while all three crew members on board the aircraft survived the event with only minor injuries.
Findings
Investigations into the incident highlighted that the runway at M'Banza Kongo is notably short, necessitating a low approach profile by flight crews to ensure landing as early as possible on the available pavement. The primary factor in this accident was that the crew executed an approach that was too low, leading to the premature ground contacts before the aircraft could reach the runway.