UNHAS plane makes emergency landing. (-)

At least 35 passengers survived when a United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) made an emergency landing at Malakal Airport on Friday after losing all its tires upon take off in Maban County.

The UNHAS charter plane reportedly departed the northern part of Upper Nile State and was destined to Juba.

Photos circulated on social media and verified suggest that the plane’s rear and nose tires were smashed off upon departure from Maban, as it was headed for Juba.

Scary scenes show the plane approaching a runway at Malakal Airport without all its wheels – making a rough landing at the tarmac before firefighters and medics from the South Sudan Red Cross rushed to rescue.

The incident occurred just a day after two crew members survived in a similar incident where an airplane crashed and went up in flames at Pieri Airstrip in Jonglei State.

Aviation authorities and the United Nations are yet to comment on the incident.

Picture of the UNHAS plane approaching Malakal Airport Runway without wheels. (Social media).

Plane crashes are commonly reported in South Sudan which authorities blame on aged planes smuggled into the country by aviation companies.

In February 2024, four crew members including a passenger survived when a banned Antonov cargo plane crash-landed and burned to ashes at Yida Airstrip in Ruweng Administrative Area.

Also in February 2024, a passenger aircraft hired to transport returnees from Upper Nile State experienced a runway excursion and sustained serious damage at Malakal Airport. The aircraft – Super 80 McDonnell Douglas with a registration – 5Y-AXL had a rough landing at the airport at 8:33 am leading to extensive damage.

In May 2021, the South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority ordered all airline companies operating Antonov An-26 to cease operations until further notice.

This came after an Antonov AN-26 cargo plane made an emergency landing at Juba International Airport following an incident in which one of its propellers fell off midair.

The single propeller plugged off in the sky and landed near some engineers working in Cuei-keer Boma, East of Bor County in Jonglei State.