2015 Services Air Airbus A310 crash

2015 Services Air A310 crash

The aircraft involved in 2011, while still in service with Shiv Air and wearing Air India's livery
Accident
Date	24 December 2015 (2015-12-24)
Summary	Runway excursion
Site	Mbuji-Mayi Airport, Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of the Congo 6°08′00″S 23°34′24″E / 6.1334°S 23.5734°E / -6.1334; 23.5734
Total fatalities	8
Total injuries	9
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Airbus A310-304F
Aircraft name	Saraswati
Operator	Services Air
Registration	9Q-CVH
Flight origin	Lubumbashi International Airport, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo
Destination	Mbuji-Mayi Airport, Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of Congo
Occupants	5
Crew	5
Fatalities	0
Injuries	0
Survivors	5
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities	8
Ground injuries	9

On 24 December 2015, at 08:35, an Airbus A310-304F cargo aircraft, operated by Congolese company Services Air on a domestic flight, ran off the end of the runway and crashed in a residential area while landing at Mbuji-Mayi Airport in the city of Mbuji-Mayi, the capital of Kasai-Oriental province in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Eight people were killed and nine others were injured, all of whom were people in the residential area. The aircraft suffered substantial damage, but the five crew members were uninjured. The aircraft overshot the runway by about 500 m (1,640 ft) and ploughed into the residential area, destroying several homes.^[1]

Accident

The pilot informed Ngoyi Kasanji, governor of Kasai-Oriental province, that a brake problem on the aircraft was the cause of the accident. According to witnesses the aircraft had already gone around twice and on the third landing attempt it touched down about halfway along the runway and was unable to stop before rolling off the end. The A310 came to a stop on soft ground among houses about 500 m (1,640 ft) past the runway end.^[2]

References