A United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) aircraft crash-landed at Malakal Airport on Friday, almost missing thirty-five persons.
The event happened shortly after the airplane’s tyres came off mere seconds into the flight, causing a severe malfunction. The aircraft had just taken off from Maban.
As local media received confirmation of the emergency landing from John David, the director of South Sudan’s civil aviation. According to David, the precise source of the failure is still being looked into.
We’ve experienced two crashes in as many weeks. Last night, there was again another occurrence. I am unable to provide more information at this time as our technical team is still gathering details, David stated.
The Malakal Airport crash is the latest in a concerning string of aviation mishaps in South Sudan. When their cargo jet crashed on Wednesday while trying to land at an airport in Pieri Payam, Uror County, and Jonglei State, the two pilots barely spared death.
Recent incidents have shown how dangerous air travel is in the nation even more.
A cargo airplane caught fire on August 8th, just after it touched down in Pieri Payam, Uror County, Jonglei State. The two crew members who were injured on board received medical attention at a nearby clinic. Three persons lost their lives and several more were injured when the accident started a fire that spread to the huts next to the airfield. A military cargo jet that was en route to Yida in the Ruweng Administrative Area crashed at Yida airfield in March of 2024.
An Africano Company passenger plane carrying refugees from the Sudanese conflict made a crash landing at Malakal Airport in February 2024. There were no reported injuries.
All occupants of a cargo plane carrying passengers survived the crash-landing at Juba International Airport in April 2023. That happened after a Let L-410 Turbolet operated by South Sudan Supreme Airlines crashed in Pieri in 2021 while doing a domestic flight to the Yuai airfield; fortunately, no one was hurt.
The deadliest recent tragedy happened in August 2020, just after the cargo plane took off from Juba International Airport and collided with a farm in the Kemeru district. There were eight fatalities and one injured passenger who made it out alive.
Due to South Sudan’s poor road system, many people in the country rely heavily on air travel, which raises the frequency of aviation accidents in the area.