Investigation Summary
The accident occurred during the first service of the day for the 35-year-old aircraft. According to the preliminary report by the BPEA, the takeoff roll on runway 17 was longer than normal. Once airborne, the air traffic controller observed the aircraft in a shallow climb with unstable wing movements. The crew contacted the tower to request a turn back to runway 35 but did not specify the nature of their emergency. The aircraft then descended rapidly, striking electrical wires and crashing into a residential area approximately one kilometer south of the airport. The investigation noted that the aircraft was not equipped with a Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) or a Flight Data Recorder (FDR), which is common for this aircraft type and age in the region. Following the crash, authorities seized the fuel truck that had serviced the aircraft to investigate potential fuel contamination. The right-hand engine had been overhauled just 0.3 hours and one flight cycle prior to the accident, while the left-hand engine had over 3,300 hours since its last overhaul. There were significant initial discrepancies regarding the number of souls on board; while 22 (19 passengers and 2 crew) is the widely accepted figure, conflicting load sheets suggested totals of 6, 11, or 17 passengers.
Final Conclusions
The investigation is ongoing. The Democratic Republic of the Congo's Bureau Permanent d’Enquêtes d’Accidents et Incidents d’Aviation (BPEA) released a preliminary report on 10 January 2020. The report confirmed the aircraft's flight path and the crew's request to return to the airport but did not reach a final determination on the cause of the engine failure or the subsequent loss of control. The BPEA indicated that a thorough examination of the recovered engines would be performed subject to financial conditions.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Aged 52.
First Officer
Aged 29.
Systems & Failure Modes
Garrett TPE331-5-252D Engines
The aircraft was powered by two turboprop engines; the right engine had just returned to service following an overhaul.
Flight Recorders
The aircraft lacked CVR and FDR systems, significantly limiting the investigators' ability to reconstruct cockpit actions and engine parameters.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was 35 years old and had previously been operated by Olympic Aviation and in Kenya as 5Y-BTU.
- 02While registered as SX-BHC with Olympic Aviation, the aircraft was involved in two previous accidents: a landing gear failure in 1993 and a power line strike/engine failure in 1994.
- 03The right-hand engine had accumulated only 0.3 hours of flight time since its last overhaul.
- 04There was one survivor from the aircraft, a passenger who sustained minor injuries.
- 05The aircraft was not equipped with a Flight Data Recorder or a Cockpit Voice Recorder.
- 06All air carriers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo were banned from European Union airspace at the time of the accident due to safety concerns.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Fuel Supply Seizure
Source ↗Immediately following the accident, Congolese authorities seized the fuel truck and supply that had serviced the aircraft at Goma International Airport to test for potential contamination.
BPEA Engine Examination Recommendation
Source ↗The BPEA recommended a thorough laboratory examination of the recovered Garrett TPE331 engines to determine the cause of the reported power loss, though this was noted to be subject to the availability of funding.