'At least 100 killed' in Congo jet accident

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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The jet was flying at an altitude of 33,000 feet when this occurred - no chances for survivors.

‘At least 100 killed’ in Congo jet accident]('At least 100 killed' in Congo jet accident | Democratic Republic of the Congo | The Guardian), The Guardian, 9 May 2003

More than 100 people are feared to have died after the rear door of a cargo jet burst open as it carried soldiers, police officials and their relatives across Congo, airport officials have said.

Survivors clung to the inside of the Russian-built jet as the accident happened at a height of 10,000 metres (33,000 ft).

Kikaya Bin Karubi, a Congolese government spokesman, said that seven people had been confirmed killed after being “ejected from the plane” near the southern city of Mbuji-Mayi. He added that military helicopters were searching the area for signs of further casualties.

Two officials at the international airport in the capital, Kinshasa, independently told the Associated Press that 129 people were feared to have died. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

After the accident occurred, around 45 minutes into the flight, the pilots managed to turn back and land the plane in Kinshasa, Irung Awan, the defence minister, said.

Passengers on the aircraft had included police, soldiers from a presidential guard unit and their families. Nine survivors were being treated for minor injuries and psychological trauma at Kinshasa General Hospital, Kabamba Mbwebwe, chief doctor at the hospital’s emergency ward, said.

“They were traumatized and spoke of their baggage flying everywhere,” Mr Mbwebwe told the Associated Press. “The door opened and the plane depressurised.” He said survivors had told him that many people had been sucked out of the aircraft, but that it was not possible to give a precise number.

Many of those who survived the accident had suffered head injuries from baggage that flew around inside the aircraft after the door had burst open.

Survivor Prudent Mukalayi, a soldier, said that he had escaped because he became jammed against luggage. “I think there were about 200 people on board, soldiers and their families, women and children,” he said.

“I was asleep and then I heard people screaming. When I woke up, the pilot told everyone to get to the front of the plane, and there were about 40 of us, but people kept dying … there were only about 20 survivors.”

The plane, a privately owned Ilyushin 76, had apparently been heading to the south-eastern city of Lubumbashi. Weather conditions were believed to have been normal, and there was little immediate idea of why the door had come open.

Witnesses who had been at the airport before the flight took off told reporters that the aircraft had looked “run down”.

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This is truly unfortunate ... May Allah bless those who died and give comfort to those who they left behind.

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It was a cargo plane, carrying 129+ people. Are there seats inside such a plane or were these people sitting on the plane floor or something? Chances of hanging on to something are higher if they had chairs. However, loosing cabin pressure at 33k feet must be traumatic by itself.

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[QUOTE]
Originally posted by Faisal: *
**Are there seats inside such a plane or were these people sitting on the plane floor or something?*
[/QUOTE]

It's possible some of them MIGHT have been sitting on the floor, actually. i caught the end of a BBC interview from Kinshasa, and their journalist mentioned that it is not uncommon for civilians to be allowed onboard these types of jets at the last minute, usually resulting in a cramped environment inside, (he said he has been on many of these cramped cargo flights himself within Congo).

On the same segment, BBC mentioned that a Congolese Minister has stated that 7 people are confirmed dead. Perhaps obviously, the government would want to downplay the number of deaths. The accurate death toll will probably only come out in the ensuing weeks.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Faisal: *
It was a cargo plane, carrying 129+ people. Are there seats inside such a plane or were these people sitting on the plane floor or something? Chances of hanging on to something are higher if they had chairs. However, loosing cabin pressure at 33k feet must be traumatic by itself.
[/QUOTE]

Normally there are seats on the side and in the middle from the front to the back. Many (especially) children might sit on the floor. There is often not seatbelts either (having flown in such "military" type transport planes). Many of the passengers would be stting next to the rear cargo doors. Very unfortunate accident. The reason I heared why the doors opened does not sound plausible.

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Survivors tell of Congo plane horror, BBC, 10 May 2003

Mystery still surrounds the number of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo who died after falling out of a cargo plane in mid-flight. The government - which confirmed seven deaths, then admitted the figure might be nearer to 170 before settling on 60 - has launched an investigation.

Airport officials had put the death toll at around 129, but survivors say the figure could be much higher because the plane was overloaded.

Passengers were sucked out of the plane when the rear doors flew open after taking off from the capital Kinshasa on Thursday night. Survivors told how they clung on bags, ropes and nettings for almost two hours to stop themselves also being dragged through the rear hole.

Mambaza, a policeman, estimated there were 350 passengers on board - including 100 women and children. He thought no more than 100 had returned. “When the back door opened, I fell down and lots of boxes covered me,” he told Associated Press news agency from a military hospital in the Congolese capital Kinshasa. “Lots of my colleagues were sucked out by the wind. I don’t know how many, because I fainted.”

His wife, Bebe Kahoma, said: “Us women, we had a little bit of luck because we had been placed close to the cabin, therefore far from the door, but we sustained some damages.” She said an unknown number of women and children fell from the plane and the shock caused two pregnant women to miscarry their unborn children.

Other unnamed survivors, recovering at the Lufungula military camp, described the scene on board to French news agency, AFP. “There were no seats, only a few folding chairs along the cabin walls. People were crammed onto benches and on the floor,” said one. “When the door came off, the plane tipped to the right then to the left, and many people fell towards the hole.” He said he stayed alive by gripping onto the netting that had secured trunks of ammunition and uniforms.

“It was by clinging with my arms and legs to the netting that I managed not to be sucked out like the others,” he said. Two police officers said they survived thanks to a truck secured down in the plane: “The truck served as a barrier for most of the survivors, it prevented them from falling out of the gaping hole.”

Sergeant Kabmba Kashala said the plane had taken off with the door improperly fastened. It flung open after three failed attempts to fully shut it mid-flight, he said. “I was just next to the door and I had the chance to grab onto a ladder just before the… door let loose,” he said.

The Ukrainian plane had been chartered by the military to fly from Kinshasa to Congo’s second city, Lubumbashi. Following the incident, the Russian crew was able to turn the Ilyushin 76 around and land at Kinshasa airport.

The Information Minister, Kikaya Bin Karubi, told Reuters an investigation was being carried out by the airforce and army to identify whether the accident was the result of human error or a mechanical problem.

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If this was the cargo carrying version of the IL76, I doubt it would have more than a few seats - that would have eaten into cargo capacity. They were probably almost all just sitting/standing around in the floor.