Category: Aviation

UN chopper crash-lands with gov’t officials – JIA Director

An official says the UN helicopter which cashed-landed in Juba on Wednesday morning was carrying government officials who were on a mission to Jonglei State.

The plane crashed in the swarmpy area near Jebel Aviation Warehouse, northwest of the airport.

The 12 government officials and four crew members were en route to Bor town and Guil of Ayod County when the plane forced-landed shortly after taking off.

“The plane just forced landed just less than two minutes,” Kur Kuol Ajieu, the director of Juba International Airport confirms the accident to Eye Radio Wednesday evening.

“I think they were on a government mission where they were supposed to go to Guil after taking off from Bor and then back to Juba, but it crash-landed in less than one minute even,” he said.

Altyeib Ajang Okeec, the Upper Nile State Security Advisor, and Ismail Adowk, a former Commissioner of Manyo County are among the officials.

All of them are unhurt, but the plane suffered minor damage.

“The passengers are all safe including the crew, and the plane actually did not get full damage but just slight damage,”  he said.

Kuol said a joint investigation team between the civil aviation authority and the UN will be formed to establish the cause of the incident.

Airplane crashes are often reported in South Sudan, a situation attributed to the use of outdated aircraft as well as overloading airplanes.

Body of Gen. Salva Mathok flown home from Thailand

President Salva Kiir on Monday led mourners to Juba International Airport to receive the body of late General Mathok who passed away on March 1, 2023 after a short illness.

General Mathok, a war veteran and member of the national parliament, died while receiving treatment in Thailand.

President Kiir joined mourners at the airport to pay respect to the deceased general.

Last week, Warrap State governor Manhiem Bol Malek said General Mathok was a committed leader during the struggle for South Sudan independence.

Governor Malek had declared three days of mourning for Mathok, a former deputy minister of interior, who hails from the state.

Continue reading Body of Gen. Salva Mathok flown home from Thailand

Son of E Guinea president held over sale of plane

One of the sons of the president of Equatorial Guinea has been arrested on suspicion of illegally selling a plane belonging to the national airline.

State media said Ruslan Obiang Nsue is alleged to have sold the 74-seater turboprop to a company based in the Canary Islands.

An inquiry was launched last year when it was discovered that the plane had gone missing while undergoing routine maintenance in Spain.

The suspect used to run the national airline in Equatorial Guinea, a country firmly in the hands of the family of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema who has been in power for 43 years.

Continue reading Son of E Guinea president held over sale of plane

Two-time Olympic 800m champion survives plane crash in Kenya

Kenya’s two-time Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha is reportedly unharmed after a plane he was traveling in crash-landed on Saturday evening.

The plane carrying the 33-year-old, who won gold at both London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016, and five others came down near a park in Kajiado county in Kenya’s southeast.

Pictures from the scene suggest the plane flipped over after one of its wings hit a tree, with Rudisha describing the event as a “scary episode”.

“All was well close to seven or eight minutes into the flight when the engine of the plane suddenly went quiet,” he told the Daily Nation newspaper.

“He saw some clear space where he tried to land the plane but one of its wings hit a tree as the plane started to spin before landing on the rocky field,

“The pilot did an incredible job to keep the plane afloat and stable for long.”

Rudisha, whose winning time in London of one minute 40.91 seconds still stands as the men’s 800m world record, is said to be unhurt.

However, one of the other occupants, Stephen Ole Marai, was reportedly being treated in a hospital for rib injuries while others had minor injuries and were taken to hospital but later discharged.

Rudisha had been on his way back from attending the annual Maasai Olympics event at Kimana Wildlife Sanctuary in Kajiado county.

Now retired from top-level athletics, he has suggested that he is considering going into coaching.

He survived a car accident on the Nairobi-Kisumu highway in August 2019 when a tyre burst and his SUV collided head-on with a bus.

error: Alert: Content is protected !!
Exit mobile version