EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO KORONGO B737 CAUSES LONGER FLIGHT SUSPENSION
(Posted 25th August 2015)
The damage caused recently to a Korongo Airlines B737 aircraft at Bipemba Airport in Mbuji-Mayi, when loose runway tarmac slabs hit the stabilizers of the plane as it sped down the runway for takeoff, appears to be more extensive than initially thought.
The airline had hoped to resume their flights with the single aircraft they operate on routes from Lubumbashi to Johannesburg, Kinshasa and Mbuji- Mayi before the end of the month but has now extended their flight suspensions until at least the 04th of September.
While Korongo has been diplomatically silent on laying blame on the Congolese aviation authorities and the airport management of Mbuji- Mayi have other aviation sources left no doubt in communications to this correspondent that they consider those responsible for the maintenance of the airport’s runway and regulatory oversight as utterly incompetent and negligent. Wrote one on condition of anonymity to avoid being harassed and singled out for retaliation: ‘This incident could have led to a much more serious accident, not just damage to the aircraft itself. In a worst case scenario the result could have been loss of live. It is clear that minimum safety standards which are required by ICAO have not been met and that is almost criminal. They were all just very lucky’.
While Korongo has tried to lease an aircraft – the airline is EASA approved and as such cannot and will not just lease a plane from any source unless it is operated under equally safe standards – this was reportedly not successful and has prompted the prolonged flight suspension. Watch this space for and update when Korongo will resume operations.
