An Antonov An-26 cargo aircraft overshot the runway at Lisala Airport (LIQ), in the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on April 11, 2023.
There have been no reports of any injuries caused by the incident, which saw the aircraft coming to a stop on a muddy field 200 meters from the head of the runway.
Footage has since been posted on social media capturing the aircraft in the moments shortly after the incident, with its rear landing gear stuck in the deep mud and surrounded by a crowd of locals. From a series of accompanying images. it appears that the nose and front landing gear may have been damaged.
The aircraft (registration 9S-AFP) was operated by Congolese airline Air Kasaï and had arrived from the country’s capital, Kinshasa, carrying a cargo of mosquito nets on behalf of the World Health Organization (WHO).
It has been reported that the runway at Lisala Airport was in very poor condition, since it was last repaved more than three decades ago.
This same aircraft has previously been involved in a similar incident on January 17, 2022, when it suffered a runway excursion when landing at Lodja (LJA), an airport with an unpaved runway located in the center of the DRC.
