Crash of a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan on Mt Margherita: 3 killed
Date & Time:
Apr 28, 2006 at 0647 LT
Operator:
Registration:
ZS-ADL
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Goma - Bunia
MSN:
208B-0381
YOM:
1994
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The single engine aircraft departed Goma on a humanitarian flight to Bunia, carrying one passenger, two pilots and a load consisting of 300 kilos of various goods on behalf of the World Food Programme. En route, the crew decided to follow a direct route via GPS instead of the one mentioned on the flight plan. While cruising at an altitude of 12,500 feet in poor weather conditions, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Margherita (5,109 metres high) located in the Ruwenzori Mountain Range, western Uganda. The wreckage was found two days later and all three occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain after the crew failed to follow the prescribed route and executed a direct route over the mountains at an unsafe altitude in poor visibility due to weather.
