1998 Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727 crash

1998 Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727 crash

A Boeing 727 similar to the accident aircraft
Shootdown
Date	10 October 1998
Summary	Airliner shootdown
Site	Near Kindu Airport, Kindu, Democratic Republic of Congo 2°57′0″N 25°57′0″E
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 727-30
Operator	Lignes Aériennes Congolaises
Registration	9Q-CSG
Flight origin	Kindu Airport
Destination	N'djili Airport
Passengers	38
Crew	3
Fatalities	41
Survivors	0

The 1998 Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727 crash was a non-scheduled domestic Kindu–Kinshasa passenger service that was shot down by rebel forces, just after takeoff from Kindu Airport, during climbout, on 10 October 1998. All 41 occupants of the aircraft perished in the incident.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727-30, registration 9Q-CSG, that had its maiden flight on 10 March 1965. It was delivered new to Lufthansa, before serving Condor until 1981. From there the aircraft was operated by the Royal Oman Police Air Wing under registration A4O-CF. In 1993 it was now operated by Seagreen Airlines and later the same year by Shabair under registration 9Q-CSG. In 1994, it was acquired by New ACS before ultimately transfeering to Lignes Aériennes Congolaises in 1997. The airframe was 33 years old at the time of the crash.

Description of the event

The Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727-30 took off from Kindu Airport (KND/FZOA) on a domestic non-scheduled passenger flight to N'djili Airport in Kinshasa with 38 passengers and 3 crew on board. Only 3 minutes into the flight, the rear of the aircraft was struck by a Russian-made shoulder-fired Strela 2 surface-to-air missile launched by rebel forces during the Second Congo War. The captain attempted an emergency landing, but the 727 crashed into a dense jungle near Kindu. All 41 people on board died.