Freighter crash in the Congo claims 30 lives, injures 14

AN Aero Services Ilyhushin IL-76T freighter has crashed during a flight from Pointe Noire to Brazzaville in the Congo on the approach to the airport, killing all six crew members on board and claiming the lives of 26 people on the ground and injuring 14.

According to a report by the Aviation Herald from Salzburg, Austria, the cargo aircraft with registration number EK-76300, crashed on the approach to the runway 05L in the evening after the aircraft clipped tree branches just short of the runway. The weather was reported to be bad at the time.

The main wreckage came to rest about 870 metres in front of the runway threshold, shattering debris from about 750 metres.

Congo's government officials reported that the aircraft overran the end of the runway, broke through the airport perimeter fence, crossed a road, impacted multiple buildings and fell into a ravine about 1,000 metres away.

The official report said the brakes of the aircraft belonging to Trans Air Congo had failed, the crew attempted a go-around, however, the aircraft did not climb up again.

Ownership of the aircraft is raising questions after Trans Air Congo is reported to have posted on its Facebook site, but not its official site, that they never used EK-76300.

The report said aircraft EK-76300 was owned and operated by Air Highnesses (Armenia). The aircraft had joined Air Highnesses in 2008 but had retained the paint scheme, "HeavyLift Congo," of the former owner, according to pictorial evidence in 2011. The aircraft was said to have been leased out in August 2011 and was flown by a mostly Armenian crew.