Madut Biar, national minister of Transport. | Credit | Courtesy
The National Minister of Transport said its air crash investigation department will retrieve black box from the wreckage of the deadly plane crash in Unity State and send it the United States for further analysis.
A flight operated by Light Air Service carrying 21 people including 19 passengers and two crew members – crashed shortly after takeoff supposedly for Juba, according to the country’s petroleum minister.
The light aircraft had safely landed earlier at the oilfield while transporting a top official of the Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC).
However, after engineers and technical staff of the company boarded the return flight to Juba for a routine monthly shift, it came down in a bushy area three minutes later leaving it severely damaged.
Following the tragic crash that killed workers of the GPOC oil company, President Salva Kiir expressed “profound sorrow” and ordered swift investigation into the incident.
Minister Madut Biar Yel said an investigation team will conduct a detailed site inspection and gather evidence to piece together the events leading to the incident.
Minister Madut said, as of the time of his statement to national television SSBC on Wednesday, neither the transport ministry nor the South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority, had any information regarding the cause of the crash.
The minister said the investigation committee will work to uncover the facts and submit a final report once the black box has been analyzed in the manufacturer’s laboratory.
“The government is sending a team of air crash investigation department in the Ministry of Transport and South Sudan Civil Association authorities to go and investigate tomorrow morning site investigation,” he said.
“They will retrieve the black box and voice recorder from the plane wreckage and bring them to Juba to be sent to the country of manufacturing, which is the United States, to go and actually analyze and read out the cause of the crash of the aircraft.”
Minister Madut said the bodies of foreign nationals including two Chinese, two Ugandan crew members and one Indian will be repatriated to their countries.
The victims include 15 South Sudan nationals, while one person survived and is currently receiving medical treatment.
“The committee will investigate and then will submit the final report after the black box is taken to the laboratory of the manufacturing country to determine what is the cost of the aircraft crash.
According to data obtained from the Aviation Safety Network, at least 87 people have died in various plane crashes since South Sudan’s independence from Sudan in 2011.
The biggest incident that claimed 41 lives occurred on November 4, 2015, near Juba International Airport in Central Equatoria State, when Allied Services Limited – lsf Asia Airways crashed while taking off.
The second biggest fatality occurred on September 9, 2018, near Yirol airstrip in Lakes State, when South West Aviation, lsf Slav-Air crashed while landing – a heartbreaking occurrence that killed 20 people, including a bishop.
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