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Congo plane crash: 7 killed as cargo jet crash-lands in Mbuji-Mayi

At least seven people have been killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after a large cargo plane overshot the runway at an airport and struck a number of homes, officials say. (more)

The accident happened at about 4 p.m. local time on Thursday when an Airbus A310 belonging to Services Air attempted to land at an airport in the city of Mbuji-Mayi and overshot the runway, causing it to plow through a residential area near the airport and striking several homes.

Mbuji-Mayi, which is the capital of Kasai-Oriental province, is located in the country's south-central region and is about 942 kilometers (585 miles) southeast of the capital Kinshasa.

Kasai-Oriental Governor Ngoyi Kasanji told the AFP news agency that at least seven people had been killed in the crash-landing, all of whom lived in homes near the airport. The four crew members who were on board the cargo plane escaped without injury.

A source told Radio Okapi that the accident followed two failed landing attempts, after which the aircraft landed in the middle of the runway and was unable to stop in time. As a result, the plane overshot the runway and came to a stop about 500 meters (546 yards) beyond the end of the runway.

http://bnonews.com/news/index.php/news/id3116

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Status:	Preliminary
Date:	Thursday 24 December 2015
Time:	ca 17:00
Type:	Airbus A310-304F
Operator:	Services Air
Registration:	9Q-CVH
C/n / msn:	413
First flight:	1986-03-07 (29 years 10 months)
Engines:	2 General Electric CF6-80C2A2
Crew:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4
Passengers:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4
Ground casualties:	Fatalities: 8
Airplane damage:	Unknown
Location:	Mbuji-Mayi Airport (MJM) (   Congo (Democratic Republic))
Phase:	Landing (LDG)
Nature:	Cargo
Departure airport:	Lubumbashi-Luano (FBM/FZQA), Congo (Democratic Republic)
Destination airport:	Mbuji-Mayi Airport (MJM/FZWA), Congo (Democratic Republic)

Narrative:
The Airbus A310 cargo plane suffered a runway excursion after landing at Mbuji-Mayi Airport (MJM), Democratic Republic of the Congo. The aircraft landed on runway 17 but failed to stop on the remaining runway. It continued off the runway and impacted several houses, killing at least eight persons on the ground.
Houses are located 300 m past the end of the paved surface of runway 17, on the extended runway centreline.
The accident happened after a period of heavy rainfall.

On August 19, 2015, a Korongo Airlines Boeing 737-300 sustained serious damage when loose runway tarmac slabs hit the stabilizers during takeoff from Mbuji-Mayi.
Congo Airways suspensed all of its flights to Mbuji-Mayi as of on December 8 until further notice due to the degradation of the airport's runway. The Congolese authorities, the RVA (Régie des voies aériennes), inspected the runway on December 20 and concluded it was indeed old but considered it still "practicable".
MZWThe airport's runway 17/35 is 2000 m (6558 ft) long.