United Nations Bombardier CRJ-100 crash
Encyclopedia
On 4 April 2011, a Georgian Airways
Bombardier CRJ-100ER crashed while landing at N'djili Airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
. The aircraft broke up when it hit the runway at the airport as it attempted to land. There were 32 fatalities, with the sole survivor a Congolese journalist.
7070. The aircraft was delivered in 1996 to French airline Brit Air
, as F-GRJA. It was sold to Georgian Airways
in September 2007. Leased from Georgian Airways, it was operated by the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(MONUSCO) using the callsign UN-834.
(13:00 UTC
). The aircraft was on a domestic flight from Goma
to Ndjili via Kisangani
. Heavy rain was falling at the time. The METAR
in force at the time showed thunder showers and rain. According to a United Nations official, the plane "landed heavily, broke into two and caught fire". An eyewitness suggested windshear
as a cause. The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy indicated that the poor weather was a key element in the cause of the crash. Of the four Georgian crew and 29 passengers, there was only one survivor, Francis Mwamba, a Congolese journalist. The survivor was seriously injured. The aircraft manifest listed 20 UN workers. The passengers included UN peacekeepers and officials, humanitarian workers and electoral assistants. Five non-UN passengers were staff from non-governmental organisations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or from other international organisations.
The UN Security Council and the United States have offered their condolences for the accident. UN flights are frequent in Congo, more than hundreds a week, as they are one of the best available means of transportation in the country; the flying route is one of the most used in the country.
Georgian Airways
Georgian Airways is the national airline of Georgia based in the capital, Tbilisi. It is a privately owned airline operating services from Georgia to destinations mainly in Europe and Western Asia. It is based at the Tbilisi International Airport....
Bombardier CRJ-100ER crashed while landing at N'djili Airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
. The aircraft broke up when it hit the runway at the airport as it attempted to land. There were 32 fatalities, with the sole survivor a Congolese journalist.
Aircraft
The aircraft was a Bombardier CRJ-100ER, registered 4L-GAE, c/nSerial number
A serial number is a unique number assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value...
7070. The aircraft was delivered in 1996 to French airline Brit Air
Brit Air
Brit Air is a regional airline based on the grounds of Morlaix Airport at Ploujean, Morlaix, Brittany, France, operating scheduled services as an Air France franchise out of Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport, Paris-Orly Airport and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport.-History:The airline was established in...
, as F-GRJA. It was sold to Georgian Airways
Georgian Airways
Georgian Airways is the national airline of Georgia based in the capital, Tbilisi. It is a privately owned airline operating services from Georgia to destinations mainly in Europe and Western Asia. It is based at the Tbilisi International Airport....
in September 2007. Leased from Georgian Airways, it was operated by the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo
United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which was established by the United Nations Security Council in resolutions 1279...
(MONUSCO) using the callsign UN-834.
Accident
The aircraft crashed upon landing on N'djili Airport's Runway 24, shortly before 14:00 local timeUTC+1
UTC+01:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +01:00. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as .This time is used in:*Central European Time*West Africa Time*Western European Summer Time**British Summer Time**Irish Standard Time...
(13:00 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
). The aircraft was on a domestic flight from Goma
Goma International Airport
Goma International Airport is an airport serving Goma, a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.-Airlines and destinations:-2002 Nyiragongo eruption:...
to Ndjili via Kisangani
Bangoka International Airport
Bangoka International Airport is an airport in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo.From November 2009 until June 2011 Kenya Airways connected Bangoka International Airport to Nairobi three times a week...
. Heavy rain was falling at the time. The METAR
METAR
METAR is a format for reporting weather information. A METAR weather report is predominantly used by pilots in fulfillment of a part of a pre-flight weather briefing, and by meteorologists, who use aggregated METAR information to assist in weather forecasting....
in force at the time showed thunder showers and rain. According to a United Nations official, the plane "landed heavily, broke into two and caught fire". An eyewitness suggested windshear
WindShear
The Windshear Full Scale Rolling Road Wind Tunnel is an automotive wind tunnel in Concord, North Carolina.In January 2008 Wind Shear, a division of US machine tool builder Haas Automat-80.7ion, completed construction on one of the most advanced automotive wind tunnels in the world. The full-scale...
as a cause. The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy indicated that the poor weather was a key element in the cause of the crash. Of the four Georgian crew and 29 passengers, there was only one survivor, Francis Mwamba, a Congolese journalist. The survivor was seriously injured. The aircraft manifest listed 20 UN workers. The passengers included UN peacekeepers and officials, humanitarian workers and electoral assistants. Five non-UN passengers were staff from non-governmental organisations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or from other international organisations.
The UN Security Council and the United States have offered their condolences for the accident. UN flights are frequent in Congo, more than hundreds a week, as they are one of the best available means of transportation in the country; the flying route is one of the most used in the country.
Nationalities of passengers
| Nationality | Fatalities | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passengers | Crew | ||
 Republic of the Congo |
8 | 0 | 8 |
 Georgia (country) |
0 | 4 | 4 |
 South Africa |
3 | 0 | 3 |
 Belgium |
2 | 0 | 2 |
 Bangladesh |
2 | 0 | 2 |
 Ghana |
1 | 0 | 1 |
 Benin |
1 | 0 | 1 |
 Côte d'Ivoire |
1 | 0 | 1 |
 Mali |
1 | 0 | 1 |
 Mauritania |
1 | 0 | 1 |
 São Tomé and Príncipe |
1 | 0 | 1 |
| Unknown | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Total Fatalities: | 32 | ||