KINSHASA, Dec 25: A cargo jet overshot the runway while landing in a central city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing seven residents with homes adjacent the airport, officials have said.
The cargo jet “of the Services Air company overshot the runway and killed seven people on the ground” while landing in the city of Mbuji-Mayi, the governor of the Western Kasai region, Ngoyi Kasanji, yesterday told.
An air traffic controller, speaking on condition of anonymity, said “all those killed were in their homes located adjacent to the airport”.
Kasanji said the aircraft was an Airbus, and the company’s website said it flies an Airbus 310 cargo jet, a model that was last built in the 1990s but is still in service including with US express delivery firm FedEx.
Congo Airways, the new national airline, suspended service to Mbuji-Mayi earlier this month, citing the poor infrastructure at the airport of the capital of the Western Kasai region.
Only a handful of local companies serve the immense country in the heart of Africa, all of which are on an EU blacklist for failing to meet safety norms.
The International Civil Aviation Organization has also criticised airports in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the management of its airspace. (AGENCIES)
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