DORNIER 228 CRASHES ON TAKE OFF IN GOMA KILLING 29 PEOPLE
(Posted 25th November 2019)
(Photo source Twitter @rodrah1)
A nearly 36 year old Dornier 228, owned and operated by Busy Bee Congo, yesterday crashed while taking off from the airport in Goma / Eastern Congo. Busy Bee was founded in 2009 according to information received.
The aircraft had a crew of two and 15 passengers on board, all of whom perished in the crash together with at least 12 people on the ground, when the aircraft hit houses on impact.
The Dornier 228 was first entering service in May 1984 and was operated under a Congo licence, registered as 9S-GNH, manufacturer serial number 8030.
The scheduled flight was operating from Goma to Beni.
This is the second accident the airline had in Goma, the previous one in 2016 when another Dornier 228, 9Q-CSL departed the runway on landing due to a faulty gear. The aircraft involved at the time was close to 31 years old at the time of the accident. There were no reported fatalities on that occasion.
Busy Bee is on the EU blacklist as an airline prohibited from flying into or across EU airspace as are many other Congolese airlines due to continued concerns on regulatory oversight, regulatory enforcement and a range of safety issues.
