2002 Prestige Airlines Boeing 707 crash
The aircraft involved in the crash pictured in 1990, then operated by Liberia World Airlines
Accident
Date4 July 2002 (2002-07-04)
SummaryLanding gear malfunction
SiteGuitangola, near Bangui Airport, Bangui, Central African Republic
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 707-123B
OperatorPrestige Airlines
Registration9XR-IS
Flight originN'Djamena Airport, N'Djamena, Chad
DestinationMaya-Maya Airport, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
Passengers21
Crew9
Fatalities28
Injuries2
Survivors2

On 4 July 2002 a Boeing 707-123B operated by Prestige Airlines and owned by New Gomair, crashed during an emergency landing at Bangui Airport. 28 people on board were killed and two survived.[1] The flight was bound to Brazzaville, but the crew decided to divert to Bangui when the landing gear had not retracted.

Background

The international flight was carrying passengers and a load of onions and garlic from Chad to the Central African Republic. There were 17 Chadian passengers on board.[2] The Boeing belonged to a small airline New Gomair, owned by local businessmen, but was chartered by Prestige Airlines at the time of the accident.[2]

Crash

On final approach to Bangui, the aircraft descended until it contacted the ground. The crash occurred in clear weather at about 11:15 a.m. in the Guitangola neighborhood, two miles short of the Bangui Airport's runway.[3][4] The aircraft exploded upon touchdown, scattering wreckage and reportedly causing the roof of an empty house to collapse.[3]

The two survivors were engineer Laurent Tabako and a woman from Chad, both were admitted to a hospital.[2] According to Tabako, the engines stopped before landing and the crew may have dumped too much fuel before an emergency landing.[2] The witnesses reportedly did not hear the usual engine noise during the crash and saw no flames when the aircraft disintegrated.[2] The aircraft's flight recorder and voice recorder were recovered and an investigation was launched by the government of the Central African Republic.[2]

References

  1. ^ Ranter, Harro. "Accident description". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "'Pilot error may have caused CAR plane crash'". Independent Online. July 7, 2002. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Disabled Jet Crashes in Africa, Killing 23 as It Attempts to Land". The New York Times. Associated Press. 5 July 2002. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  4. ^ "Many dead as plane crashes in Central Africa". The Irish Times. Agence France-Presse. 2002-07-04. Retrieved 2020-08-22.

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