An-32 disaster in Kinshasa

An-32B (registration number RA-26222, serial 23-01) was released by the Kiev Aviation Aviation Plant on February 9, 1990. It was operated by airlines: “MRP” (“Leninets NPO”, in 1990) and “ Aerolit ” (in 1993). November 18, 1994 was transferred to the airline " Moscow Airways " (Moscow Airways). Equipped with two AI-20 turboprop engines AI-20 ZMKB "Progress" named after G. Ivchenko .

Early in the morning of January 8, 1996, the RA-26222 board, fully fueled by the An-32B, was supposed to perform a cargo flight - deliver foodstuffs from Kinshasa to Kahembu. The aircraft operated under a leasing agreement with Zaire airline African Air . The crew consisted of commander Nikolai Kazarin, co-pilot Andrei Guskov, navigator Andrei Kokovikhin and flight mechanic Andrei Belyaev. In addition, the crew included reserve navigator Sergey Gladkikh (a citizen of Ukraine ) and a citizen of Zaire who accompanied the flight.

At 11:40, the WAT An-32B began a run-up runway at N'Dolo Airport. The runway was dry. The flaps of the aircraft were released at 25 °. At the 28th second from the start of the takeoff, at a speed of 130 km / h, the elevator was deflected to 20 ° and remained in that position until the end of the flight. At the 32nd second, the pitch angle increased by 3.5 °, but the aircraft continued its run in the three-point position, somewhat unloading the front wheel. At the 39th second, the speed reached 194 km / h, which corresponded to the speed of the lifting of the nose wheel with the declared take-off mass of the aircraft 26 tons. At the 42nd second, the speed reached the speed of separation of 204 km / h, but the separation of the nose wheel did not happen and the plane continued to move all the chassis on the runway.

At the 47th second, the crew tried to stop the takeoff by cleaning the throttle, and after 3 seconds removing the propellers from the stop. The crew’s actions to stop the take-off did not prevent the aircraft from rolling out of the runway and airport. There were no signs of deceleration on the runway. The reverse of the engines was involved by the crew too late. At high speed, the liner rolled out of the runway, hit the parapet of the concrete drainage ditch, drove into the market, located on the runway, dashed through the malls about 240 meters and caught fire from a collision with market buildings. Eyewitnesses to the crash claimed that when trying to take off, the nose part of the aircraft did not rise.

As a result of the crash, the flight mechanic died, the other 5 crew members were injured and evacuated from the burning aircraft. The massacre of an angry mob over the crew was avoided thanks to the actions of the police. As a result, the catastrophe claimed the lives of 297 people on earth, mostly women and children, another 253 were injured. The injured were taken to Kinshasa hospitals, which soon became overcrowded. The bodies of the dead were so mutilated that only 66 people could identify themselves. Unidentified victims were buried in a mass grave.

The crashed An-32B was owned by Moscow Airlines, founded in 1993 after the parent company Sheremetyevo-2 split into several legally independent divisions. After some time, the companies merged, but the Moscow Airways company managed to maintain its independence, having managed to be incorporated by that time. The flights of the airline's liners were carried out with significant violations, which led to the prohibition of the company's activities on January 4, 1996 by the Commission of the Moscow Regional Directorate of Air Transport due to poor maintenance of the aircraft. However, the company continued to operate illegally until the Kinshasa disaster. On February 26, 1996, the Moscow transport prosecutor's office opened a criminal case under article 85 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR, " Violation of rules for traffic safety and vehicle operation ." Representatives of the airline said that at the time of the crash the plane was technically sound.

On January 10, 1996, specialists from the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) and the DVT of the Russian Ministry of Transport set off to investigate the causes of the disaster in Kinshasa. It was not possible to find out the exact causes and circumstances of the disaster, since the Zaire authorities did not provide the necessary information about the incident to the representatives of the investigative commission. Despite the fact that the aircraft was Ukrainian-made, the authorities of Zaire sent an MS-61 on-board tape recorder and a parametric recorder to decrypt to Canada .

Investigation Findings

1. Lack of control by crew members over loading and centering the aircraft.
2. The crew has expired inspection time of piloting equipment.
3. The contract for the operation of Moscow Airlines in Zaire was interrupted on December 29, 1995.
4. The certificate of the operator a / k "Moscow Airways" was suspended, and all the crews knew about it.

The cause of the catastrophe was a flight with a take-off mass exceeding the maximum allowable. According to calculations, the takeoff weight of the aircraft during takeoff was 29200-34000 kg, that is, it exceeded the maximum allowable 27000 kg.

The following factors influenced the catastrophe:

1. Take-off attempt with a take-off mass exceeding the maximum allowed.
2. Unsatisfactory control over the objectivity of information about the actual amount declared for transportation.
3. Late recognition of the situation by the crew and late actions to stop the takeoff.

Particularly serious consequences of the disaster are due to the presence of a market with a large number of people on the territory belonging to the airport.

Negotiations of the Russian diplomats with the authorities of Zaire did not bring results - FAC Nikolai Kazarin and co-pilot Andrei Guskov appeared in court in Kinshasa. At the court hearing, both pilots blamed each other for the crash that had happened. During the investigation, the pilots claimed that instead of the 2 tons of cargo specified in official documents, the workers of N'Dolo airport placed at least 11 tons on board:

He gave me the documents for signature ... and reported 2 tons of cargo, although in fact there were about 11 tons on board the aircraft .

- Andrey Guskov about the employee of the N'Dolo airport

After a five-month trial, the court accused the pilots of the murder and on August 6, 1996, sentenced them to two years in prison. The remaining three crew members managed to return to Russia. Scibe Airlift and African Air were fined a total of $ 1.4 million for compensation to victims and families of those killed in the crash ^[3] .

• An-26 disaster near Kinshasa

• Muromov A.I. 100 Great Air Crashes: The An-32 Aircraft Hit the Kinshasa Market
• Description of the crash at Aviation Safety Network
• Accident of An-32B a / k MVL (leased by Zairian a / c) in Kinshasa (aircraft RA-26222), January 8, 1996.