Just days after the European Union (EU) banned Hewa Bora Airways, a crash in Goma in eastern Congo killing 83 passengers and crew on board. Hewa Bora Airways was the only Congolese airline authorized to fly to EU countries. The EU had certified just a single airplane from Hewa Bora Airways. The EU cited maintenance issues of Hewa Bora Airways.
In the past, Hewa Bora Airways was the airline of choice. It can best be described as the African cousin of Southwest airlines. You get a boarding card which entitled you to fight for a seat on the plane. Pre-assigned seating is a concept and in name only. Your assigned seats are not honored.
Hewa Bora Airway flew between three times a week to Mbuji Mayi and Kananga. Twice weekly, the flight originated in Kinshasa then flew to Mbuyi Mayi then Kananga and back to Kinshasa. On the other day, it flew Kinshasa to Kananga, then onto Mbuyi Mayi and return to Kinshasa. If you were going to Kinshasa, you wanted to on the latter route. Otherwise, it appeared to be more stressful finding a seat.
It is sad event because most Congolese airport lacks emergency services. You could survive the crash but die from the secondary fires. Also, you could die when awaiting or getting emergency medical care.
The travel in the Congo is so dangerous. There are no paved roads. Trains and boats are properly maintained. Unfortunately, the average people can not afford air travel because of extreme poverty in the Congo.
Link: Air crash in Africa kills more than 80 - CNN.com.
(CNN) -- A plane crashed Tuesday shortly after taking off from the Goma airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing 83 passengers and crew on board, a foreign ministry spokesman said.
The Hewa Bora Airways DC-9 was heading from the city of Goma in the eastern mountains to the central city of Kisangani when it plummeted into a neighborhood near the runway, spokesman Antoine Ghonda said.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire, has a dismal aviation record. There have been at least 24 plane crashes in the past year, according to the Aviation Safety Network.
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