Kenge crash: Bemba outlines investigators’ hypotheses to the Senate and says it is too early to determine the cause

Congolese Deputy Prime Minister for Transport Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo told the Senate that the investigation into the September 25 crash in Kenge, which killed 17 people, is still underway. The aircraft’s black box was recovered and taken to Kinshasa; investigators are examining its condition and maintenance, the weather, human factors, the flight’s course and possible institutional failures. Bemba said it was too early to determine a definitive cause, stressing that a hypothesis is not an investigative conclusion. The victims included Lieutenant Generals Joseph Mutombo Katalayi Tiende and Lucien-René Likulia Bakumi, and searches continue for some passengers’ mobile phones.