Date: 04 July 2002
Airline: New Gomair
Flight No.: ---
Aircraft: Boeing 707
Location: Bangui, Central African Republic
Fatalities: 23:25
Photographer: AP
The aircraft [9XR-IS], on a flight from N'Djamena to Brazzaville, was carrying a combination of passengers and cargo. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot reported that the landing gear would not retract. The decision was made to divert to Bangui for a precautionary landing, and the aircraft crashed about 4km short of the runway in a fishing community on the outskirts of the capital after all four engines failed. The only surviving cockpit crew member, Congolese engineer Laurent Tabako, later reported that the aircraft may have run out of fuel after the crew initiated a fuel dump in preparation of the precautionary landing.
