Two Top Military Generals, 15 Others Die In Kenge, DRC Plane Crash 

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A plane crash in Kenge, southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has killed 17 people, including two senior military justice officials, after a small passenger aircraft plunged into a residential area and burst into flames.

The Let L-410 aircraft, operated by Tracep Congo Aviation and registered as 9S-GUC, was travelling from Kikwit to Kinshasa on Friday, September 25, 2026, when it reportedly developed a technical problem during the flight. Authorities initially put the death toll at 13 before revising it to 17. 

The aircraft crashed in the Manzawu area of Masikita commune in Kenge, the capital of Kwango Province. According to provincial authorities, the crew attempted to find a suitable location for an emergency landing but could not find an operational airstrip. The aircraft eventually came down in a plot in the residential area and was engulfed by fire. 

The revised toll included 16 adults and a baby, according to the provincial authorities. Most of the victims were badly burned in the resulting fire. The pilot’s body was reportedly recovered outside the main wreckage. No injuries or deaths were reported among people on the ground. 

Among the dead were two of the DRC’s senior military justice officials: Lieutenant General Joseph Mutombo Katalayi Tiende, First President of the High Military Court, and Lieutenant General Lucien-René Likulia Bakumi, Auditor General of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC). Their deaths were confirmed by the Congolese army. 

The two generals had been part of a high-level delegation returning from an official mission in Kikwit. The army said 12 other members of the delegation and the aircraft’s crew also died in the crash. 

The crash occurred shortly after the aircraft departed Kikwit. Early reports indicated that the plane developed difficulties while approaching or flying over Kenge, prompting the pilot to search for somewhere to land. Kenge does not have an airport meeting the required civil aviation standards, according to the Congolese Press Agency. 

The Permanent Bureau of Investigation into Aviation Accidents and Incidents (BPEA) has opened a safety investigation into the crash. Investigators have been dispatched to the site and authorities have been instructed to preserve the wreckage and other evidence while the investigation continues. 

The exact cause of the technical problem remains unknown. Investigators are expected to establish what happened during the flight, why the aircraft was unable to reach a suitable landing location and what ultimately caused the crash.

The bodies of the victims are being recovered and transferred to Kinshasa, while authorities continue efforts to formally identify those killed.

The disaster has also renewed attention on the challenges of air transport in the DRC, where the country’s vast territory and limited aviation infrastructure can complicate emergency operations and access to suitable landing facilities.

The investigation into the Kenge crash is ongoing, and no definitive cause has yet been established.