1998 Congo Airlines Boeing 727 crash

1998 aviation incident in the Democratic Republic of the Congo June 2025 Shootdown Oman Police Boeing 727 A4O-CF at Heathrow 1989.jpg The aircraft involved in the accident while still in service with Oman Police, in 1989 y 1998 10 10 Crashed into a jungle after being shot down Lomami National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo Boeing 727-30 Congo Airlines 9Q CSG Kindu Airport N'djili Airport 40-41 (DRC)Dispute Multiple occupant/death counts cited: 40 occupants/fatalities.Bayles Fred Threat is 'no longer theoretical' USA Today 13 August 2003 03A Bekker Pieter H.F. An Appraisal of the 2002 Judicial Activities of the International Court of Justice Chinese Journal of International Law 1 January 2003 2 1 321–340 10.1093/oxfordjournals.cjilaw.a000474 https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.cjilaw.a000474 19 June 2025 1540-1650 subscription Nsereko Daniel D. Ntanda Aggression under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Nordic Journal of International Law 2002 71 4 497–521 10.1163/157181002100376125 https://doi.org/10.1163/157181002100376125 19 June 2025 Brill Publishers 0902-7351 1571-8107 subscription 41 occupants/fatalities.Airline safety review – Fatal events: hostile action or unlawful Interference with aircraft safety Flight International 13–19 January 1999 28 http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1999/1999%20-%200030.html https://web.archive.org/web/20140407103620/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1999/1999%20-%200030.html 7 April 2014 dead 27 October 2012 Rivers Brendan P. Flying the Not-So-Friendly Skies? Journal of Electronic Defense February 2004 27 2 24–28 0192-429X Woellert Lorraine Hesitation At Homeland Security https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2006-03-26/hesitation-at-homeland-security 19 June 2025 Bloomberg Businessweek 3977 27 March 2006 36–38 subscription Gero David Flights of terror: aerial hijack and sabotage since 1930 2009 Haynes Pub Somerset, UK; Newbury Park, CA 978-1844256440 121 2nd Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems: A Persistent and Potent Threat https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/man-portable-air-defense-systems-persistent-and-potent-threat 19 June 2025 Stratfor 1 February 2010 25 subscription Hope Alan Court declines to prosecute Congolese politician for shooting down civilian plane in 1998 https://www.brusselstimes.com/88886/court-declines-to-prosecute-congolese-politician-for-shooting-down-civilian-plane-in-1998 19 June 2025 The Brussels Times 12 January 2020 42 occupants/fatalities. 50 occupants/fatalities.Leclerq Hubert Enquête belge contre Thambwe Mwamba pour Crime contre l'humanité https://afrique.lalibre.be/4822/enquete-belge-contre-thambwe-mwamba-pour-crime-contre-lhumanite/ 19 June 2025 La Libre Afrique 14 June 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20180321204255/https://afrique.lalibre.be/4822/enquete-belge-contre-thambwe-mwamba-pour-crime-contre-lhumanite/ 21 March 2018 fr live Belgian investigation against Thambwe Mwamba for Crime against humanity RDC : le ministre de la Justice visé par une plainte en Belgique https://fr.africanews.com/2017/06/15/rdc-le-ministre-de-la-justice-vise-par-une-plainte-en-belgique/ 19 June 2025 Africanews 15 June 2017 fr DRC: the minister of justice targeted by a complaint in Belgium Dupont Gilbert Boeing 727 abattu en RDC: 'La justice belge pas compétente' https://www.dhnet.be/actu/faits/2019/10/25/boeing-727-abattu-en-rdc-la-justice-belge-pas-competente-YNN33BFJENEYVNSWIAHBGUP43A/ 19 June 2025 La Dernière Heure 25 October 2019 fr Boeing 727 shot down in the DRC: 'The Belgian legal system is not competent' 37 (DRC) 3-4 (DRC) 40-41 (DRC)Dispute 0 On 10 October 1998, a Congo Airlines Boeing 727 flying a non-scheduled domestic passenger flight from Kindu to Kinshasa was shot down by rebel forces shortly after taking off. The plane later crashed in a jungle killing all occupants on board the aircraft.Dispute Background Aircraft The aircraft involved, manufactured in 1965, was a 33-year-old Boeing 727-30 registered as 9Q-CSG with serial number 18369. It was powered by Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7 engines.Unlawful Interference Boeing 727-30 9Q-CSG, Saturday 10 June 1998 https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/323878 Aviation Safety Network Flight Safety Foundation 18 June 2012 BBC News correspondents said that aircraft leased from Congo Airlines (CAL) and Lignes Aériennes Congolaises were frequently used to ferry troops and war materials. Passengers and crew There were 40 to 50 occupants on board the aircraft.Dispute According to the Government of the DRC, there were 40 to 41 occupants on board the aircraft, including 37 passengers and 3 to 4 crew.Monga Mulenda Makonga the United Nations Letter dated 6 November 1998 from the Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council fr 6 November 1998 https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/261729 New York City, US United Nations 21 June 2025 S/1998/1042 the United Nations Digital LibraryInternational Court Justice (ICJ): Case Concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Rwanda) International Legal Materials May 2006 45 3 562–620 10.1017/S0020782900006343 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020782900006343 22 June 2025 subscription The passengers were civilian evacuees mainly consisting of women and children.Malu-Malu Arthur No survivors after rebels down airliner https://www.independent.co.uk/news/no-survivors-after-rebels-down-airliner-1177824.html 17 June 2025 The Independent 11 October 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20220707101549/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/no-survivors-after-rebels-down-airliner-1177824.html 7 July 2022 liveGero David Flights of terror: aerial hijack and sabotage since 1930 2009 Haynes Pub Somerset, UK; Newbury Park, CA 978-1844256440 121 2nd Incident On 10 October 1998, the aircraft was scheduled to fly from Kinshasa to Kindu with the departure scheduled at 7 a.m. UTC. After its arrival in Kindu, the aircraft was scheduled to depart for Kinshasa at 08:45. The flight left Kinshasa at 06:56 and arrived in Kindu at 08:26. At 08:51, the aircraft took off from Kindu Airport and subsequently turned left. Air traffic control (ATC) asked the pilot for his route, to which the pilot immediately relied that he had heard firing and would call back to confirm his report. The pilot then called back, confirming that the aircraft had been hit three minutes after takeoff, and issued an SOS that was heard at Mbuji-Mayi and by another aircraft. In the last contact, the pilot informed ATC that they planned on making an emergency landing around "Kisni point", located between Kindu and Lodja.Monga Mulenda Makonga the United Nations Letter dated 13 October 1998 from the Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council fr 13 October 1998 https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/261729 New York City, US United Nations 18 June 2025 S/1998/945 the United Nations Digital Library Search By 11 October, spotter aircraft had been unable to locate the flight. The airline said that the search had been called off for the day. A spokesman for the airline said the villagers near Kindu had claimed to have located the crash site but that poor visibility had hindered the search.Congo Crash Site Sought https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/12/world/congo-crash-site-sought.html 17 June 2025 The New York Times Reuters 12 October 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20150527081624/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/12/world/congo-crash-site-sought.html 27 May 2015 Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo A5 live Investigation right 25em "The pilot immediately notified us that the engines were on fire, that the plane had become uncontrollable and that he would attempt to make a landing straight ahead of him - and that was the last message that we received from our crew" — Stavros PapaioannouWorld: No survivors found in Congo crash https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/191119.stm 18 June 2025 BBC News 11 October 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20250618102243/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/191119.stm 18 June 2025 live Military sources reported that a missile had shot down the aircraft. Stavros Papaioannou, the president of Congo Airlines' management committee, said that in the pilot's last message, he had notified them that the plane's engines were on fire with the plane becoming uncontrollable and that he would attempt to land the aircraft "straight ahead of him. The missile had reportedly struck one of the aircraft's rear engines shortly after taking off.Congo rebels shoot down jet with 40 aboard https://www.newspapers.com/article/edmonton-journal-congo-rebels-shoot-down/174955828/ 21 June 2025 Edmonton Journal The Canadian Press 11 October 1998 Kalima, Democratic Republic of the Congo 4 Newspapers.com Responsibility Tutsi rebels admitted that they had shot down the plane, claiming that the flight was carrying military supplies.Choi Jin-Tai Threats of MANPADS and Its Counter-Measures International Journal of Contents 28 September 2010 6 3 89–96 10.5392/IJoC.2010.6.3.089 1738-6764 2093-7504 free The leader of the rebel group said that the government had been using the aircraft to fly troops and ammunition to Kindu for several days. They also warned that any aircraft that would attempt to land at Kindu Airport would be shot down.Rebels Shoot Down Jetliner in Eastern Congo https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-oct-11-mn-31541-story.html 22 June 2025 Los Angeles Times Reuters 11 October 1998 Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo Although the region was in a state of war, air traffic was not closed at Kindu Airport or the airspace over the zone. According to international regulations, if an airport or airspace is closed, a NOTAM must be issued. Hence, an analysis by the Democratic Republic of the Congo concluded that per international conventions such as the Chicago Convention, "illicit acts of intervention" or the use of firearms against civilian aircraft "constitute violations against the safety of international civil aviation." Article 4 of the Chicago Convention states: "Misuse of civil aviation: Each contracting State agrees not to use civil aviation for any purpose inconsistent with the aims of this Convention." According to International Peace Information Service, dozens of civilian aircraft that were operating to and from the DRC along with the companies operating them were in violation of the provision as civilians were exposed with the risk of being shot down, as was the case with Congo Airlines' Boeing 727.Danssaert Peter Finardi Sergio 30 June 2011 December 2010 Antwerp, Belgium, and Chicago, United States The Arms Flyers. Commercial Aviation, Human Rights, and the Business of War and Arms https://ipisresearch.be//wp-content/uploads/2022/12/201102_The-Armsflyers.pdf International Peace Information Service 46 According to the Office of Civil Aviation Security of the Federal Aviation Administration, the shootdown is not considered politically motivated due to the incident occurring in a conflict zone and the possibility of the aircraft being perceived as being used for military purposes.1998 Criminal Acts Against Civil Aviation - 1998 https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA366863.pdf Office of Civil Aviation Security Washington, D.C., United States Federal Aviation Administration ADA366863 live https://web.archive.org/web/20250202070809/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA366863.pdf 2 February 2025 17 June 2025 Defense Technical Information Center36 International Court of Justice On 23 June 1999, the DRC initiated proceedings against Rwanda, asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to adjudge and declare that Rwanda was "guilty of acts of armed aggression, massacres, human rights abuses, that Rwanda was in violation of international humanitarian law" and that it violated international conventions by shooting down the Congo Airlines Boeing 727. In January 2001, the DRC discontinued the proceedings.Evans Malcom D Brown Chester II. Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (New Application: 2002) ( Democratic Republic of the Congo v Rwanda ) Provisional Measures, Order of 1 July 2002 International and Comparative Law Quarterly July 2003 52 3 782–787 10.1093/iclq/52.3.782 https://doi.org/10.1093/iclq/52.3.782 22 June 2025 subscription On 20 May 2002, the DRC again started proceedings against Rwanda which were "in large part similar to the [23 June] 1999 Application." The DRC accused Rwanda of "'massive, serious and flagrant violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law' resulting from acts of armed aggression allegedly perpetrated by Rwanda on Congolese territory since August 1998." The DRC cited the shootdown of the Congo Airlines Boeing 727, among others,Bekker Pieter H.F. An Appraisal of the 2002 Judicial Activities of the International Court of Justice Chinese Journal of International Law 1 January 2003 2 1 321–340 10.1093/oxfordjournals.cjilaw.a000474 https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.cjilaw.a000474 21 June 2025 1540-1650 subscription and requested that the ICJ adjudge and declare that by shooting down the Congo Airlines Boeing 727, "Rwanda also violated the United Nations Charter, the Convention on International Civil Aviation of 7 December 1944 signed at Chicago, the Hague Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft of 16 December 1970 and the Montreal Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation of 23 September 1971[.]" Both parties were signatories of the Montreal Convention.International Court of Justice (ICJ): Case Concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (New Application: 2002) (Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) v. Rwanda) (Request for the Indication of Provisional Measures) International Legal Materials September 2002 41 5 1175–1223 10.1017/S0020782900010433 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020782900010433 21 June 2025 subscription See also Democratic Republic of the Congo Aviation 1990s List of airliner shootdown incidents Notes References Category:1998 mass murders Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1998 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 727 Category:Airliner shootdown incidents Category:1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Category:20th-century mass murders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Category:Second Congo War Category:20th-century aircraft shootdown incidents Category:October 1998 in Africa Category:History of Kindu Category:20th century in Kinshasa Category:War crimes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo