Updated on October 7, 2026.
Seventeen people were killed when a Tracep Congo Aviation Let L-410 crashed at Kenge in western DR Congo on September 25. The flight recorder has since been recovered and taken to Kinshasa for analysis, while both a safety investigation and a separate judicial investigation are continuing.
The aircraft was trying to reach Kenge
The aircraft, registration 9S-GUC, was operating from Kikwit toward Kinshasa-N’Dolo. Provincial authorities ultimately confirmed 17 people on board. The aircraft encountered difficulties in flight and attempted to land at Kenge before crashing into a residential property and catching fire. No deaths were reported on the ground.
The toll was initially reported as 13 before being revised to 17. Two senior officials from DR Congo’s military justice system were among the victims.
The flight recorder has been recovered
Post-crash searches located the aircraft’s flight recorder. Actualite.cd reported that the recorder was transported to Kinshasa for examination. Its data may help investigators reconstruct the final phase of flight and better understand the difficulties reported before impact.
Recovery of the recorder is a significant step, but it does not establish the cause. No final technical conclusion has been published.
Safety and judicial investigations are now running in parallel
DR Congo’s Permanent Bureau for Aviation Accident and Incident Investigations opened a safety investigation on September 25 and sent investigators to the site. The Justice Ministry later ordered a judicial investigation to establish the facts, circumstances and any potential responsibilities.
The Transport Ministry has also sought information from the civil aviation authority and air-navigation authorities on the technical condition of 9S-GUC, its latest airworthiness inspection and the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Tracep Congo Aviation’s certificate remains suspended
The Transport Ministry suspended the airline’s air operator certificate while the investigation continues, broadening scrutiny beyond the individual flight.
The Kenge crash came about two months after another Tracep-operated L-410 was lost in eastern DR Congo following a reported engine problem. The two accidents justify closer scrutiny but do not establish a common cause.
The regulatory context
Airlines certified by DR Congo’s aviation authority remain on the European Union Air Safety List because of concerns about national oversight capability. That status does not explain the Kenge accident, but it is relevant background to the operator’s regulatory environment.
What remains to be determined
Investigators still need to establish the nature of the in-flight difficulty, the attempted landing sequence, the aircraft’s technical condition and what can be learned from the recovered recorder. Congolese authorities have also rejected unsupported sabotage claims circulating after the crash.
Sources
DR Congo BPEA and Transport Ministry; Justice Ministry; ACP; Actualite.cd, September 27–29, 2026; Radio Okapi; European Commission.
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