Lubutu

Approaching Kisangani, the single engine airplane descended into trees and crashed in a dense wooded area located 34 km of Kisangani, bursting into flames. A passenger was seriously injured and six other occupants were killed. The airplane was ferried to Kisangani to be subject to a technical inspection by the Authority to officially authorize the operation of the aircraft in accordance with the regulations in force. According to Authorities, the control tower at Kisangani Airport was unaware of this flight.

The aircraft departed Goma on a cargo flight to Kigali, carrying three crew members. En route, the crew informed ATC about technical problems and elected to divert to Kisangani Airport. LAter, the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in the region of Lubutu. The wreckage was found on 1st of August 1999. The aircraft was destroyed and all three occupants were killed. For unknown reasons, the aircraft was not following the route from Goma to Kigali and crashed about 300 km northwest of Goma while Kigali is about 100 km southeast of Goma.