An Antonov An-32 cargo aircraft crashes into a crowded market in Kinshasa, Zaire, killing up to 223 people on the ground; two of six crew members are also killed.

The Antonov An-32 is a turboprop twin-engined military transport aircraft. Its first flight was in July 1976 and displayed at the 1977 Paris Air Show. It is oriented towards flying in adverse weather conditions, and was produced from 1980 to 2012, and remains in service. It is the fourth member of the Antonov An-24 family, succeeding the An-24, An-30 and An-26, and coming before the cancelled An-132.

On 8 January 1996, a Moscow Airways Antonov An-32B operating on behalf of Air Africa overran the runway at N'Dolo Airport after attempting to take-off overloaded. The aircraft was flying from Kinshasa to Kahemba, Zaire. The aircraft ploughed into Kinshasa's Simbazikita street market. Four of the six crew of the aircraft survived the accident. On the ground, however, it is estimated that there were in between 225 and 348 fatalities with more than 500 people injured. It was the deadliest aviation accident in African history until the 2018 Algerian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 crash, the deadliest to occur in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the deadliest in terms of ground fatalities, superseded only by the intentional crashes of American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 in the September 11 attacks, and thus the deadliest accident in terms of ground fatalities.

Kinshasa, formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966, is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-growing megacities, with an estimated population of 17.8 million in 2024. It is the most densely populated city in the DRC, the second-most populous city and third-largest metropolitan area in Africa, and the world's twenty-second most populous city and fourth-most populous capital city. It is the leading economic, political, and cultural center of the DRC, housing several industries including manufacturing, telecommunications, banking, and entertainment. The city also hosts some of DRC's significant institutional buildings, such as the People's Palace, Palace of the Nation, Court of Cassation, Constitutional Court, African Union City, Marble Palace, Martyrs Stadium, Government House, Kinshasa Financial Center, and other national departments and agencies.