One of the world’s last operational Douglas DC-8s suffered serious damage after overrunning the runway while landing in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on September 8, 2026.
The DC-8-73CF freighter, registered 9S-AJO and operated by Trans Air Cargo Service, veered left off Runway 24 at N’Djili International Airport (FIH). The aircraft came to rest on soft ground with its nose landing gear collapsed.
Images and video from the airport show the four-engine jet resting nose-down in the grass beside the runway. The extent of the damage has not been confirmed, and it is unclear whether the aircraft can be repaired.
No fatalities were reported.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Bureau Permanent d’Enquêtes d’Accidents et Incidents d’Aviation (BPEA) classified the event as an accident and dispatched investigators to the airport. The agency called for the aircraft and other evidence to be preserved until its investigators could examine the scene.
The circumstances leading to the runway excursion remain unclear. Weather reports around the time of the accident indicated reduced visibility with mist in the Kinshasa area, but investigators have not said whether weather played a role.
The accident is especially notable because 9S-AJO was among the last DC-8s still flying commercially. The approximately 56-year-old aircraft was Trans Air Cargo Service’s only active aircraft, according to fleet databases.
The jet was originally built as a DC-8-63, part of the stretched “Super 60” series. It was later converted to the DC-8-73 standard with quieter and more fuel-efficient CFM56 turbofan engines.
Only a small number of DC-8s remained operational worldwide before the Kinshasa accident. Another DC-8-73 freighter, registered OB-2231P, has been operated by Peru-based Skybus Jet Cargo.
Douglas developed the DC-8 as a competitor to the Boeing 707. The aircraft entered airline service with Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in 1959.
Douglas and McDonnell Douglas built 556 DC-8s before production ended in 1972. Although the type disappeared from scheduled passenger service decades ago, several re-engined examples continued flying as freighters, research aircraft and humanitarian transports.
NASA retired its DC-8 flying laboratory in 2024, while Samaritan’s Purse retired the last US-registered operational DC-8 in 2025.