On November 17, 2025, Airjet Angola flight MBC-100 to Kolwezi veered off the runway upon arrival at the small city in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The crash was evacuated, and no fatalities have been reported amongst passengers or crew members.
Government Officials Aboard the Crash
The Airjet Angola Embraer ERJ-145 was destroyed following the crash, with the aircraft being engulfed in flames and black plumes of smoke gushing from the collision at Kolwezi Airport.
Flight MBC100 was carrying 26 passengers and 3 crew members, all of whom survived the ordeal. One passenger was Louis Watum Kabamba, DRC’s minister of Mines, who, along with several other senior officials, was on their way to attend a mining accident that had occurred a few days earlier. Placing an added political significance to the incident.
32 Dead in Mining Disaster
The incident on Saturday, November 15, saw at least 32 people killed after a bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine as unauthorised miners forced their way into the southern Kalando mine. According to the government mining agency, SAEMAPE military personnel guarding the site reportedly fired guns, causing the bridge to collapse as panicked miners ran across it.
Officials on board the Kolwezi flight were tasked with responding to the disaster, underscoring the country’s challenges faced within the mining industry; however, issues with aviation safety were what they encountered first.
Rough Landing in Kolwezi
Touching down at 11:00 am local time on Runway 29, investigators have reported that the aircraft landed ahead of the displaced threshold, which had been moved approximately 1,000 metres due to construction works. Leaving a shorter landing area for the arriving flight.
Circulating footage shows the jet skidding off the runway, into rough ground, and catching fire. Emergency crews responded quickly and successfully evacuated all on board. The incident has raised concerns as to the safety and infrastructure of remote regions of the DRC. For Kolwezi, a major hub for cobalt and copper mining, which relies heavily on-air travel for business and industry operations, this is a disconcerting series of events.
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