VZCZCXRO7034
RR RUEHJO
DE RUEHKI #0432 1220844
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020844Z MAY 09ZDF
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9552
INFO RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0100
RUEHGI/AMEMBASSY BANGUI 0023
RUEHBZ/AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE 0130
RUEHSB/AMEMBASSY HARARE 1388
RUEHYD/AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE 0255
RUCNSAD/SADC COLLECTIVE
RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000432 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION 
USAID FOR OFDA: MSHIRLEY and AFR/EA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAIR ECON PGOV CG
SUBJECT: DRC AIRPLANE CRASH 
 
¶1.  A Boeing 737 aircraft crashed 135 miles southwest of Kinshasa, 
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo the morning of April 29. 
Seven persons on the flight were killed; there were no American 
fatalities.  The plane left Brazzaville at 9:42 a.m. local time and 
crashed while attempting to land in Kikwit, Bandundu province. 
There are no other reports of deaths. 
 
¶2.  The plane is registered under the company name "Air Bako" and 
was the only plane in the fleet.  A Nigerian businessman, El Hadj 
Baba Baklo, owns the company.  The aircraft arrived in Brazzaville 
April 25 from Bangui for repairs, reportedly involving pressuration 
of the cabin and replacement of a window.  The flight was en route 
to Zimbabwe for additional maintenance. 
 
¶3.  U.S. Embassy Brazzaville has confirmed that there were seven 
persons onboard.  Press reports say two crew members were from 
Cameroun, two from Congo-Brazzaville, one from the Central African 
Republic, one from Zimbabwe, and one from Algeria.   There are no 
reports of Americans on the flight. 
 
¶4.  Embassy Brazzaville has notified the National Travel Safety 
Board investigator in Nigeria.  The DRC has not made a request for 
assistance in investigating the cause of the crash. 
 
¶5.  Embassy Kinshasa spoke with the office of the governor of 
Bandundu province.  Local villagers reported a column of smoke 
between the villages of Kenge and Nzazi, in an isolated area of the 
province, on April 29.  Flames from the crash prevented villagers 
from reaching the crash site until the morning of April 30.  No 
survivors have been found. 
 
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