Goma International Airport
| Goma Airport | |||||||||||
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 Mount Nyiragongo at the background | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Government | ||||||||||
| Location | Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 5,046 ft / 1,538 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 01°40′15.08″S 29°14′18.25″E / 1.6708556°S 29.2384028°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  GOM Location of Goma International Airport in DRC | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Source: Regie des Voies Aériennes[1] ‡ Operable runway length per national aviation authority | |||||||||||
Goma International Airport (IATA: GOM, ICAO: FZNA) is an airport serving Goma, a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa.
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Congo Airways | Kindu, Kisangani, Kinshasa-N'djili[2] |
| Ethiopian Airlines | Addis Ababa[3] |
Military use
Goma International Airport is used by both the Air Force of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and MONUSCO peacekeeping forces.[4]
2002 Nyiragongo eruption
Initially built with a paved 3 km runway and a large terminal and apron, the airport has not recovered from the 2002 eruption of the volcano Nyiragongo, 14 km to the north. The airport couldn't handle any wide-bodied aircraft except for freight operations run by relief agencies and the United Nations. A stream of fluid lava 200 m by 1000 m wide flowed onto the runway and through the city center as far as the lake shore, covering over the northern 1 km of the runway and isolating the terminal and apron which were only connected by taxiway to the northern end. The lava can easily be seen in satellite photographs,[5] and aircraft can be seen using the 2 km southern section of the runway which is clear of lava. A temporary apron was made at the side of the operational part of the runway. A Douglas DC-8 was left stranded on the terminal apron, which is now used by commercial passengers and the military. In December 2012, a contractor began work on cleaning up and fencing in the airport.[6] In February 2017, satellite imagery showed the runway has not yet been repaired where the lava damage occurred.[7]
Accidents and incidents
- On 15 April 2008, 2008 Hewa Bora Airways crash, a Hewa Bora Airways McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 (registration 9Q-CHN) overshot the runway during an aborted takeoff and crashed into the marketplace immediately to the south of the airport, killing 3 passengers and 37 people on ground.[8]
- On 19 November 2009, Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation Flight 3711, operated by McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (registration 9Q-CAB) bound from Kinshasa overran the runway on landing, suffering substantial damage.[9] The overrun area was contaminated by solidified lava.[10]
- On 12 February 2012, 2012 Katanga Express Gulfstream IV crash, a Gulfstream IV operated by Katanga Express registered as N2SA from Kinshasa overshot the runway and broke into two parts after touch down. Both pilots and two passengers were killed in the accident, as well as two farmers on ground. 8 other passengers were injured including Finance Minister Matata Ponyo, the governor of South Kivu, Marcelin Cishambo and Antoine Ghonda, former foreign minister of the D.R.C.[11]
- On 4 March 2013, 2013 Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation crash, a Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation Fokker 50 (registration 9Q-CBD) from Lodja crashed short of landing in heavy rain, into a residential area at 17:55 local time.[12][13][14] Among the 9 crew and passengers, 6 were killed.
See also
References
- ↑ "Informations sur les 54 Aérports et Aérodromes Gérés par la RVA" [Information about the 54 Airports and Aerodromes operated by the RVA] (PDF) (in French). Regie des Voies Aériennes. 30 September 2009. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ↑ HORAIRE AVEC 1 Q400 DU 06/06 AU 10/07/2016 (Heures locales), http://www.congoairways.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/HORAIRE-1-Q400-2016-V2.0-ok.pdf
- ↑ "Ethiopian Airlines Delays Goma Launch to August 2015". Airline Route. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ↑ Fittarelli, Alberto (June 26, 2017). "The Strange Tale of the Georgians in Congo". bellingcat. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
However, a list published in October 2007 by the Dutch aviation magazine Scramble appears to show that on July 19, 2007, two Mi-24V helicopters with registration number 9T-HM11 and, more importantly, 9T-HM12 were registered, again by the FAC (here named “DR Congo Air Force”), as based at an airport with IATA code GOM — a.k.a. Goma International Airport [...] No evidence of affiliation with the MONUSCO operations under UNSC resolution 2098 was located, despite the pilots clearly operating from the same facilities – most notably, Goma International Airport.
- ↑ Google Earth has high resolution photographs showing the affected part of the airport at coordinates −1.658, 29.237. Retrieved 3 September 2007.
- ↑ "MONUSCO is building security fence around Goma airport" (Press release). MONUSCO. 12 January 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ↑ HOTOSM Imagery, retrieved 14 March 2017
- ↑ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Aviation Safety Network.
- ↑ David Kaminsky-Morrow (19 November 2009). "Congolese MD-82 badly damaged in Goma overrun". Flight Global.
- ↑ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
- ↑ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network.
- ↑ "Dozens killed in DRC plane crash". News24. 4 March 2013.
- ↑ "RDC : un avion de la compagnie CAA s'est écrasé à Goma" (in French). Radio Okapi. 4 March 2013.
- ↑ "Plane crash in the city of Goma, MONUSCO comes to the rescue". MONUSCO. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Goma Airport. |