Date & Time:
Oct 10, 2019 at 1430 LT
Type of aircraft:
Antonov AN-72
Operator:
Registration:
EK-72903
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Goma - Kinshasa
MSN:
36572020385
YOM:
1987
Country:
Democratic Republic of Congo
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
4
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
4
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Goma Airport at 1532LT on a cargo flight to Kinshasa, carrying four crew members, four passengers and various goods for the Congolese Presidency. The last contact with the flight was 59 minutes after takeoff from Goma Airport then the airplane disappeared without any distress call from the crew. The wreckage was localized on October 14 near the village of Okoto, Kole region, in the west part of the Kasai-Oriental Province. The aircraft was destroyed and all eight occupants were killed, among them two bodyguards and one of the personal driver of the Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi who returned from Goma to Kinshasa the same day in another aircraft. The Congolese Presidency confirmed that Félix Tshisekedi spent four days in Goma and that his personal Jeep was on board the AN-72.
