An Antonov An-26 cargo plane operated by the South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) has crashed while landing at Yida Airstrip in Ruweng, South Sudan.
According to Radio Tamazuj, the Director General of Juba International Airport (JUB), Kuol Kur, said that the Antonov An-26 departed JUB at 06:18 local time on March 19, 2024, for Yida Airstrip.
The aircraft was due to land shortly before 08:00 but crashed under difficult conditions in the area at the time.
“The reason was that there was poor visibility in Yida and the whole of the Upper Nile area so now we altered the flight to Upper Nile today until the weather could clear,” Kur told Radio Tamazuj.
According to Kur all four crew members and a soldier onboard the aircraft survived the crash with two suffering from minor injuries.
A cargo plane belonging to the SSPDF crashed during landing at Yida Airstrip in Ruweng Administrative Area, north of #SouthSudan. Officials report that, fortunately, only two crew members were injured, and there were no fatalities.#SSOX pic.twitter.com/WKSB960aSc
— Tor Madira Machier (@TorMadira) March 19, 2024
However, there are conflicting reports that there were as many as seven people onboard at the time of the incident.
A witness in the local area indicated that there were no military personnel or firefighters to help extinguish the blaze following the crash, so the aircraft was destroyed.
“Today the weather was not good and there was very poor visibility. The plane approached the airstrip badly and did not land properly. It landed on the side of the airstrip and is now burning, and the civil defense force is not here to put out the fire,” the witness said.
The Aviation Safety Network said that from photos taken of the scene it appeared the left-hand main gear had collapsed.
An Antonov An-26 cargo plane has crashed during landing at Yida, South Sudan. No reported casualties.pic.twitter.com/rM8uPYwx7Y
— Aviation Safety Network (ASN) (@AviationSafety) March 19, 2024
