13 Feared Killed as Tracep Aviation L-410 Crashes in DRC

September 25, 2026 in Foreign News, Travel & Tourism by Editor

Thirteen people are feared dead after a Tracep Congo Aviation Let L-410 crashed and caught fire near Kenge in western DRC.

Thirteen people are feared dead after a Tracep Congo Aviation Let L-410 crashed near Kenge in western Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, September 25, while operating a domestic flight from Kikwit to Kinshasa.

The aircraft, registration 9S-GUC, was reportedly en route to N’Djili International Airport when it developed problems and diverted towards Kenge, where witnesses reportedly saw it circling before it came down in the Manzaw district of Masikita. The aircraft was destroyed by a post-crash fire.

The initial accident information, attributed to aviation data provider Cirium, indicates that all 13 people on board are feared to have died. FlightGlobal, citing the Congolese investigation authority, subsequently reported that there were no survivors.

Among those reportedly killed were the Auditor General of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo and several senior military personnel.

The accident occurred in daylight and under visual meteorological conditions, according to the initial reports. Kenge’s airfield, which lies roughly midway between Kikwit and Kinshasa, is understood to be disused, with part of its runway having been built on.

The circumstances that prompted the crew to divert towards Kenge remain unclear, and no cause of the accident has been established.

The crash is the latest involving a Tracep-operated L-410 in the DRC this year. On July 24, another Tracep L-410, registration 7Q-GMR, crashed in North Kivu after the crew reported an engine failure while flying from Beni towards Kasongo-Lunda. One person died and survivors were rescued from the wreckage.

The two accidents involved different aircraft. Aviation fleet records list 7Q-GMR as an L-410 UVP-E built in 1985, while Tracep has also operated another L-410, 9S-GEO, built in 1982.

The L-410 is a twin-engine turboprop aircraft widely used for short-haul passenger and cargo operations, particularly on routes serving smaller airfields.

Investigators will be expected to establish the aircraft’s flight path, the nature of the reported problem, the crew’s decision to divert to Kenge and the condition of the disused airfield, alongside technical and operational factors.

Further details on the occupants and the circumstances of the crash are expected as the Congolese authorities continue their investigation.