What happened
A twin-engine airplane was performing a multi-leg journey starting from Léopoldville, with scheduled stops at Coquihatville and Stanleyville before reaching its final destination of Bunia. During the second leg of the trip, the aircraft departed Coquihatville Airport at 10:23 local time. The flight was operated by two crew members who were in the process of returning to their home base at Bunia-Irumu Airfield.
While navigating through areas of restricted visibility, the pilot experienced a loss of orientation and inadvertently drifted southeast instead of following the intended eastward course. As the aircraft's fuel supply reached critical levels, an emergency landing was attempted in the vicinity of Yailunga village. During this maneuver, the twin-engine airplane struck two large trees before coming to rest in a forested region. The wreckage was eventually located approximately 280 km south of Stanleyville. There was no post-crash fire reported at the scene. The accident resulted in two fatalities, as both crew members on board were killed.
Findings
Investigations into the crash determined that there were no mechanical or technical failures present on the aircraft. The primary environmental factor was the presence of dry fog, which significantly reduced visibility during the flight. The deviation from the planned flight path was attributed to a navigation error, which subsequently led to the fuel exhaustion that necessitated the emergency descent.