CAA Boeing 727-231F plane crash
Kinshasa, Congo
Updated on
The CAA (Compagnie Africaine Aviation) Boeing 727-200 performing a freight flight from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, to Kananga, Democratic Republic of Congo, suffered a hydraulics problem shortly after takeoff prompting the crew to return to Kinshasa's Ndjili Airport. After landing, the airplane veered left off the runway and came to a stop with all gear collapsed. No injuries occurred.
Because of the hydraulic leak, the captain decided to return to land to the longer runway at Ndjili. Heavy rain was prevailing, and there was water standing on the runway. After touch down, the airplane could not be slowed because the brake failed due to the loss of hydraulic pressure. The crew tried to use spoilers and thrust reverser, but there was no braking effect.
The threshold of runway had been displaced and the now unused area of the former runway is being broken up and removed, leaving concrete piles on that section. The crew therefore tried to steer the airplane to the left hand edge around the works, but the left hand main gear went off the edge. There was an erosion at the left hand edge about 40cms deep causing the left main gear to drop below the concrete and the gear snapped off. The airplane skidded for about 300 meters on the right main gear, nose gear and left wing doing a 90 degrees pirouette in the process, at which point the right hand main gear snapped off. The right hand main gear ended up besides the left wing.
Investigation showed that the tailskid had been removed by the maintenance team prior the flight. However, it is probable that the tailskid hydraulics lines were either badly locked or no plugs installed at all after the removal, leading to the loss of the hydraulic fluid when the hydraulic pumps were activated.
CAA is currently on the blacklist of airlines banned from flying in the European Union.
