2007 Free Airlines Let L-410 crash
On June 21, 2007, an overloaded Let L-410UVP Turbolet, operated by Free Airlines and Karibu Airways, crashed shortly after takeoff from Kamina Town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, en route to Lubumbashi. The aircraft, registration 9Q-CEU, carried 21 people (18 passengers and 3 crew) even though the L-410UVP is rated for a maximum of 17 passengers. It landed inverted in a swamp east of the unpaved airstrip. One person, Mbuyu Mibanga, a deputy in the DR Congo National Assembly, was killed. At least 12 others were injured, including two World Health Organization doctors and one Vodacom-Congo engineer. Of the 21 on board, 20 survived.
Investigators blamed the crash on overloading caused by pilot error. Both Free Airlines and Karibu Airways were on the EU’s ban list for carriers certified by DR Congo authorities, meaning they were barred from operating in Europe.
After another crash in August 2007, licenses for Karibu Airways and pilot Isaac Besongo were suspended.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 11:49 (CET).