A McDonnell Douglas DC-9 aircraft operated by local carrier Hewa Bora Airways has crashed into a residential area in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo .
The aircraft came down in the town of Goma which is located near the border with Rwanda.
Image: PA Photos
Unconfirmed reports, citing a provincial governor, state that the aircraft crashed after take-off. One report suggests 78 fatalities from the accident.
Goma has a single runway orientated north-south, around 2,000m (6,560ft) in length, with residential zones located almost immediately beyond the threshold of the southern end.
Flight’s ACAS database lists only one DC-9 in service with Hewa Bora, a 31-year old DC-9-50.
Earlier this month regulators included all Hewa Bora Airways operations on the European Commission’s airline blacklist. The carrier had already been subject to individual airframe restrictions for months.
Source: flightglobal.com's sister premium news site Air Transport Intelligence news