A cargo plane crashed while attempting to land at Malakal Airport in South Sudan on Easter Sunday.
The Boeing 727-2Q9 aircraft was registered as belonging to Safe Air Company (SAC)
It was transporting an assortment of goods from Juba to Malakal town.
However, the Malakal Airport’s Acting General Manager said the cargo plane Boeing 727, (5Y-IRE) built in 1979, was operated by Cush Air and when it landed it hit another plane which had previously been involved in another accident.
He explained that it was delivering goods to Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile State.
“What happened was that a large cargo plane landed and crashed at our airport at about 11.00 hours,” he added.
“This plane landed a few meters outside the runway, causing its tires to burst,” Bol narrated.
As a result, the plane lost control and hit another plane, the African Airways MD-82 (5Y-AXL) that had previously crashed at the terminal.
“This is a loss because the aircraft is damaged beyond repair, as its bottom part split.”
Seven people were aboard the plane, including six crew members. They were unscathed except for one person who was slightly hurt.
South Sudan has witnessed several plane crashes in recent years.
In the last two weeks, a military cargo plane carrying mixed goods to Yida in the Ruweng Administrative Area crashed at Yida Airstrip.
In February 2024, a passenger aircraft operated by Africano Company which was involved in transporting returnees who fled the war in Sudan, crash-landed at Malakal Airport. No one was reportedly hurt in the accident.
In April 2023, a cargo plane carrying passengers crash-landed at Juba International Airport. All the passengers came out unscathed.
On 2 March 2021, a Let L-410 Turbolet of South Sudan Supreme Airlines crashed in Pieri, Uror County on a domestic flight to Yuai Airstrip, South Sudan.
In August 2020, eight people lost their lives, while a single passenger survived with injuries when a cargo plane crashed into a farm in the Kemeru area minutes after it took off from the Juba International Airport.
In 2015, 36 people were killed when a Soviet-era Antonov plane crashed just after takeoff from Juba.
In 2017, some 37 people had a miraculous escape after their plane hit a fire truck on a runway in Wau before bursting into flames.
A total of 19 people were killed in 2018 when a small aircraft carrying passengers from Juba to Yirol crashed.
South Sudan lacks proper road connectivity, forcing people to rely on air transport.
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