Plane crash leaves 7 dead in DRCongo
KINSHASA, April 14 (Xinhua) -- A Boeing 737 belonging to a senior aviation figure in the Democratic Republic of Congo crashedduring a test flight on Friday, killing all seven people on board.
****The incident occurred at the capital Kinshasa's airport.
****Airport sources said the plane was making a landing when its port-side undercarriage failed, causing the crash. Reports said the flightcrew, which included a number of aero-engineers, had battled in vain to safely land the stricken aircraft.
****It belonged to General Kikunda, who had been air force commander during Mobutu Sese Seko's presidency (1965 - 1997) when the country was named Zaire. Kikunda, who was also the former headof the state aviation administration, was not on board at the timeof the accident.
****Kikunda had ordered the test flight, as he had decided to put the aircraft back into use after nearly 10 years of standing idle. It had been left on the airport's parking apron since 1997