Plane Flips Over and Catches Fire During Violent Crash, Rescue Crews Racing to Burning Wreckage Witness a Miracle
A turboprop airplane crash-landed at a local airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Monday with more than 30 passengers onboard.
The Fokker-50 airplane operated by domestic airline Jubaa Airways flipped on its back and caught fire after it crash-landed on Aden Abdulle International Airport’s Runway 05, the Somali Civil Aviation Authority said in a news release.
Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority has issued an statement on the kenyan plane that crashed at Mogadishu’s Adan Abdulle International Airport, on Monday. ??#somalia #mogadishu #AAIA pic.twitter.com/1DoNALJi8h
— Independent.mind ⏱ (@Independentmi20) July 18, 2022
The incident occurred at 11:28 a.m. that day, the Civil Aviation Authority said. The agency pledged to release a preliminary report on the incident once the investigation concludes.
Videos of the crash site showed shreds of the fuselage scattered across the runway while black smoke billowed from the capsized airplane, according to the Washington Post.
Miraculously, all 36 passengers and crew members on board survived the ordeal, according to the news release from the Civil Aviation Authority.
Citing a statement from the airline, the Post reported that the airplane was flying from Baidoa, a city in the interior of the country.
“We applaud the quick action of the Somalia fire brigade at the Adan Adde International Airport for their quick action in rescuing and saving lives,” an Intergovernmental Authority on Development spokesman told local reporters, the Post reported.
The Monday crash comes approximately two years after a previous crash in 2020.
On September 19, 2020, a Fokker 50 airplane operated by Kenya-based airline Silverstone Air Services struck a concrete perimeter wall when landing at Aden Adde International Airport.
The airplane was flying cargo to Beledweyne from Mogadishu when its pilots decided to return to the airport due to issues with the plane’s hydraulics.
Black smoke drifted across the Mogadishu skyline after a passenger plane crash landed at an airport in the Somali capital. All passengers were rescued https://t.co/Xc9vzjBiRU pic.twitter.com/lziS5oBQJk
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 18, 2022
The pilots’ attempt to land the plane on runway 05 failed after the airplane skidded off the runway, eventually striking the wall. The pilots sustained serious injuries from the incident.
The F-50 was manufactured by Dutch manufacturer Fokker Aircraft Company based on the Fokker F27 Friendship aircraft, according to information from Aerospace Technology.
The aircraft was designed to operate on rough airfields or dirt runways and in adverse weather conditions.
The first F-50 had its maiden flight in 1985. The plane was first introduced to the market in 1987, according to Aerospace Technology.
Around 213 F-50s were built by the company since it was introduced in 1987. Out of those, 168 are operational.
Although the company ceased production in 1996, its successor, Fokker Services, still services and repairs current Fokker-50 aircraft.
Fokker Services did not respond to the Post’s request for comment.
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