What happened
On the afternoon of the accident, while operating over the Kasai province, an aircraft experienced a significant mechanical failure involving the right engine. During the flight, a propeller blade detached from the engine and penetrated the cabin area. This event caused the aircraft to become uncontrollable, leading to a steep nose-down descent.
Approximately two minutes after the initial failure, the plane crashed into the Dibata forest, situated roughly 20 km from Kikwit. There were 15 fatalities among the occupants of the aircraft, with no survivors reported from the crew or the passengers.
Findings
The investigation determined that the loss of control was directly caused by the severing of the elevator control cables by the detached propeller blade. The mechanical failure originated in the right engine, where the upper portion of the main connecting rod head became wedged between the crankcase and the crankshaft counterweight at the opening of cylinder number 14. This sequence of events was triggered by a fracture occurring on a lug of piston number 6.