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348:, at an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,000 m), the cargo door of the Ilyushin Il-76 suddenly opened, blowing many passengers out of the aircraft. Several people were clinging to ropes, bags and netting on the interior wall of the plane. Survivors described the scene as chaotic, with passengers screaming and flying out of the open door. Several people who had been sleeping were awakened by other passengers' screams. They also claimed that the plane suddenly tilted to the left and right, causing more people to be ejected. Several people who had clung onto ropes lost their grips and were blown out to their deaths. A secured truck on the cargo hold may have saved many lives as it may have acted as a barrier.
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resulting from shock. The government only confirmed the deaths of 17 people, while officials estimated that as many as 60 may have been killed and airport officials placed the number of fatalities at 129. Aviation officials and western diplomats in Congo estimated that at least 170 people were killed
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The aircraft managed to return to
Kinshasa after the incident. The Congolese government ordered an immediate search for the passengers who had been sucked out of the aircraft. Survivors claimed that many people had disappeared after the incident, and stated that as many as 200 people, including women
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were investigating to determine whether the accident was the result of human error or a mechanical problem. Sergeant Kabmba
Kashala said that the aircraft had taken off with the door improperly fastened and that the door had flung open after three failed attempts to fully shut it mid-flight. The
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One survivor described the commotion: "I was just next to the door and I had the chance to grab onto a ladder just before the door let loose." Another said, "I saw a soldier cradling a baby and a mother with a baby near the door suddenly just being wrenched into the darkness."
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and children, were killed in the incident. Ukrainian defence ministry spokesman
Konstantin Khyvrenko stated that no one was hurt in the accident, but survivors stated that many were injured by flying baggage and cargo. At least two pregnant women experienced
341:. The cargo compartment was full of passengers; many were sleeping in the middle section and near the cargo door. The aircraft had no proper seating, and there were only folding chairs in the cabin, with people "crammed onto benches and on the floor."
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pilot suggested that the door had opened either after one of the passengers tinkered with its controls, or because of a computer glitch. He stated that a passenger could have been "touching the button for special opening device".
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The incident occurred above the city of Mbuji-Mayi on the night of 8 May 2003. The aircraft was an
Ilyushin Il-76 registered as UR-UCB and was operated by Ukrainian Cargo Airways, a Ukrainian state-owned
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in the incident. Of the more than 160 passengers in the cargo compartment, only about 40% returned to the airport.
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An investigation was ordered immediately after the disaster. Information minister Kikaya Bin Karubi told
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Aviation accidents and incidents in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgian Congo, and Zaire
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333:. The two-hour flight was chartered by the military to transport soldiers and their families to
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Aviation accidents and incidents in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
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Airliner accidents and incidents caused by in-flight structural failure
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following the opening of the cargo door in mid-air while flying over
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The aircraft involved in the accident, photographed in 2007
502:"Death Toll Is Still Unclear in Air Disaster Over Congo"
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2003 disasters in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
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Accidents and incidents involving the
Ilyushin Il-76
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1091:Democratic Republic of the Congo–Ukraine relations
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426:"Passengers sucked out as doors fall off plane"
999:Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation Fokker 50 crash
897:Lignes AĂ©riennes Congolaises Boeing 727 crash
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55:"2003 Ukrainian Cargo Airways Il-76 accident"
1066:2003 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
701:Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Flight 4230
124:2003 Ukrainian Cargo Airways Il-76 accident
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160:following opening of cargo door mid-flight
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106:Learn how and when to remove this message
1056:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2003
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400:"200 feared dead in Congo air disaster"
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476:"Survivors tell of Congo plane horror"
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344:About 45 minutes after takeoff from
44:adding citations to reliable sources
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991:Katanga Express Gulfstream IV crash
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236:, Democratic Republic of the Congo
221:, Democratic Republic of the Congo
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1007:Busy Bee Congo Dornier 228 crash
597:Aviation accidents and incidents
500:Sengupta, Somini (11 May 2003).
451:"Congo air disaster toll rising"
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230:Lubumbashi International Airport
174:Democratic Republic of the Congo
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771:Polish Air Force Mil Mi-8 crash
761:Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown
31:needs additional citations for
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631:Air Midwest Flight 5481
560:Aviation Safety Network
298:explosive decompression
294:Ukrainian Cargo Airways
199:Ukrainian Cargo Airways
158:Explosive decompression
967:Filair Let L-410 crash
751:Colgan Air Flight 9446
711:QantasLink Flight 1737
455:The New Zealand Herald
118:2003 aviation accident
339:Haut-Katanga Province
721:Brit Air Flight 5672
671:Air China Flight 112
641:TANS PerĂş Flight 222
556:Accident Description
314:Congolese government
40:improve this article
809:► 2004
803:2002 ◄
375:Congolese Air Force
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924:Congo air disaster
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288:On 8 May 2003, an
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29:This article
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1028:(March 2022)
1001:(March 2013)
977:(April 2011)
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535:. Retrieved
532:The Guardian
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292:operated by
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206:Registration
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38:Please help
33:verification
30:
985:(July 2011)
934:(June 2007)
918:(July 2002)
282:At least 40
226:Destination
1045:Categories
926:(May 2003)
864:(May 1948)
386:References
335:Lubumbashi
310:Lubumbashi
302:Mbuji-Mayi
257:Fatalities
244:160 – 350+
241:Passengers
234:Lubumbashi
170:Mbuji-Mayi
149:8 May 2003
66:newspapers
537:8 January
511:8 January
485:8 January
460:8 January
435:8 January
409:8 January
373:that the
279:Survivors
480:BBC News
404:SBS News
346:Kinshasa
320:Incident
306:Kinshasa
271:Injuries
219:Kinshasa
195:Operator
180:Aircraft
141:Accident
96:May 2024
601: (
599:in 2003
371:Reuters
274:Unknown
154:Summary
80:scholar
787:Dec 25
777:Dec 18
757:Nov 22
747:Aug 26
737:Aug 24
717:Jun 22
707:May 29
697:May 26
687:May 25
667:Mar 15
647:Feb 19
210:UR-UCB
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1018:2020s
959:2010s
908:2000s
881:1990s
854:1940s
767:Dec 4
727:Jul 8
677:May 8
657:Mar 6
637:Jan 9
627:Jan 8
617:Jan 8
168:Over
87:JSTOR
73:books
603:2003
539:2017
513:2017
487:2017
462:2017
437:2017
411:2017
379:Army
377:and
331:Kyiv
249:Crew
165:Site
146:Date
59:news
308:to
42:by
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