What happened
A flight operated on behalf of the DRC Government, transporting a delegation from the Ministry of Mines, was traveling from Kinshasa to Kolwezi via Lubumbashi. The mission involved meeting local officials regarding a recent mining incident in Kalando. Upon arrival at Kolwezi Airport, the aircraft attempted to land on runway 29. During the landing sequence, both main landing gear were sheared off the airframe.
Following the gear failure, the aircraft slid several hundred meters along the runway before veering toward the left side of the strip. The plane eventually came to a stop perpendicular to the runway and subsequently caught fire. Despite the intensity of the flames, all 29 occupants—consisting of 26 passengers and three crew members—successfully evacuated the aircraft without sustaining injuries before the wreckage was destroyed by the fire.
Findings
Investigations into the incident revealed that the first 1,000 meters of runway 29 was undergoing resurfacing work at the time of the accident. Although a NOTAM had been issued to notify flight crews of a displaced threshold and a reduced landing distance of 1,500 meters, the aircraft landed before the displaced threshold. This positioning resulted in the landing gear encountering the construction zone, which led to the structural failure of the gear assemblies.