Mom. Please don't read this.

Tomorrow at 630am I will be picked up by an IRC car and head for Kavumu Airport; the United Nations' military airport about 1.5 hours by 4x4 to to the north of Bukavu. I emphasize the 4x4; although the Chinese have been working on the road, several kilometers are still to be done.

I'm flying with ECHO - the European Union airservice here in the Congo - to Lubumbashi; the capital of the province of Haut Katanga. The reason why I am going to Lubumbashi for 10 days I'll write in the next post.

In order to get to Lubumbashi one has to stop twice: one time in Kalemie and one time in Moba. Interestingly, last Wednesday (January 13) the ECHO plane crashed in Moba. From sources I heard that the pilot did a "mauvais atterissage". "The pilot missed the target and one of the back wheels broke off on the runway, causing the plane to lean over to one side. One of the wings consequently dragged along the runway until the pilot was able to steer the plane until a small puddle of water to slow down the plane." Luckily, "everyone got out of the plane safe and sound, but visibly shaken up."

Of course, we all want to see the pictures:

Mom, I hope to write something tomorrow again. ;)

More seriously, though. I flew this same route in the summer, also with ECHO. They are good: fly new Canadian Bombardier planes, operate under international quality standards, etc. So, no worries. And to increase the image of the EU a bit after this: European Union, you rock!