Then it started to strike houses . All the parcels of goods which were on board shifted toward the front of the plane . I noticed beside me a hole by which I left without knowing how , and I fell into a mud puddle . I then could contemplate the flames which consumed the plane . It was not about excess weight . It 's a simple mechanical failure . The crash was similar to the 1996 Air Africa crash , which also involved an Antonov An-32 overshooting the runway ( albeit at Kinshasa 's other airport N'Dolo ) with massive casualties on the ground . The DRC has an aviation safety track record that has been dubbed " an embarrassment " by the IATA , and the Transport Minister Rémy Henri Kuseyo Gatanga was fired by the President for culpable negligence in failing to enforce adequate standards and procedures for aviation safety management . One source indicates that the lifting of the Transport Minister 's ban on Antonov flights over DRC territory was not by his order but rather that of the Minister of State to the Head of State
1996 Air Africa crash
1996 Air Africa crash
2007 Africa One Congo Antonov An-26 crash