Air Congo Domestic Flight Accident at Stanleyville (OO-DEP)

Incident Overview and Flight Details The aircraft was chartered by Air Congo and was operating a non-scheduled domestic flight between Kamina and Stanleyville (now Kisangani). Eleven passengers boarded at Stanleyville, and the aircraft began its takeoff roll at 1920 local time. ## Takeoff Sequence and Initial Impact After traveling approximately 900 meters down the runway, the pilot spotted an empty fuel drum in the darkness. In an attempt to avoid the obstacle, the pilot veered left and applied heavy braking to the left wheels. Despite this maneuver, the nose wheel struck the drum. The impact, combined with the pilot's takeoff inputs, lifted the forward section of the aircraft. At that point, the aircraft had reached a speed sufficient for a normal takeoff. ## Loss of Control and Crash The drum bounced, fell back onto the runway, and bounced again. While in a nose-high attitude, the aircraft's right stabilizer caught the drum, tearing part of the stabilizer away. The damaged stabilizer was likely completely distorted, causing the aircraft to deflect to the right. The crew retracted the landing gear. After being airborne for about 500 meters, the aircraft lost vertical control, dived into the clearway at an angle of about 300 degrees, bounced, fell back 50 meters, skidded on its belly, and stopped after swinging 900 degrees to the right. ## Casualties and Damage During the swing, passengers in the rear cabin were thrown out through the torn-off cargo door and an open cabin door. Fire broke out immediately after the aircraft stopped. The accident occurred on the north clearway of runway 28, about 150 meters from the runway end. All three crew members and three passengers were killed, and eight other occupants were injured. The aircraft was totally destroyed by fire.