The Tracep Congo Aviation LET L-410 cargo aircraft was found crashed in a forest area near Walikale with one survivor and one fatality among the two crew members.
The aircraft departed from Mavivi airport in Beni at 12:36 local time on Friday, carrying nearly two tons of cargo bound for Kachungu in Shabunda territory.
Shortly after takeoff, the captain reported an engine failure on one of the two engines and attempted to divert to Walikale airfield before losing radio contact.
Search operations were launched on Friday; according to Tracep Congo Aviation sources, the co-pilot was found alive Sunday in the crash zone while the captain died.
Local authorities in Shabunda said the aircraft was expected at Tchonka-Lulingu but never arrived, and confirmed that after reporting an engine problem about twenty minutes after takeoff from Beni, the crew became unreachable. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.
