Thysville

The aircraft failed to takeoff from Thysville Airport and crashed in a field. Both crew members were unhurt while the aircraft was written off. They were engaged in a humanitarian flight on behalf of the UNO.

The twin engine airplane departed Leopoldville in the morning on a flight to Angola, carrying one passenger, an aerial photographer, and three crew members, one pilot, one navigator and one mechanic. En route, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions and because the airplane was not equipped with radio communication system or radiocompas, the pilot decided to land at Thysville Airfield (now Mbanza-Ngungu). After the airplane was refueled, the pilot started the takeoff procedure from a grassy 593-meter long runway. The airplane rolled on the entire distance then rolled outside the runway, in tall grass, causing the right wheel to detach. The airplane continued to climb with a speed of 80 mph then started to descend as its speed was decreasing to 60 mph. In a constant left turn, the pilot attempted an emergency landing 4 km southwest of the airfield. The airplane came to a halt, bursting into flames. All four occupants escaped uninjured while the airplane was totally destroyed by fire.