Plane crash in South Sudan leaves 10 people dead
JUBA, South Sudan The HK-4274 commercial passenger aircraft belonged to South Supreme Airlines, which is owned by South Sudanese businessman Ayii Duang Ayii. It was flying from Juba to Pibor when it crashed at Pieri Airstrip in Uror County. It was with great shock and horror to receive news of the crash of the South Supreme Airlines flight, A commercial plane crashed late Tuesday in South Sudan, killing all 10 people on board, according to the governor of Jonglei state. Ten people including eight passengers and two pilots lost their lives after South Supreme Airlines flight HK-4274 bound for the capital Juba took off from the town of Pieri in Jonglei state and crashed, said Denay Jock Chicago.
“Our prayers are with their families and loved ones. On my own behalf and behalf of the people of Jonglei state and the nation, I share this condolence message with the affected families and friends in these hours of grief,” Chagor said in a condolence message released by his office. “It was with great shock and horror to receive the news of the plane crash of South Supreme Airlines that happened today, the 2nd day of March 2021 at around 5 p.m. at Pieri Airstrip,” he added. Earlier in the day, Kur Kuol, the director of Juba International Airport, spoke with Anadolu Agency by phone. "News reaching us indicates that a commercial plane has crashed in the town of Pieri in Jonglei state while setting off for Juba,” Kuol said.
He said the South Supreme Airlines flight went down immediately after taking off at 5 p.m. local time (1500GMT). The plane crashed in a region where there is no network coverage, so it was difficult to confirm the exact number of casualties, he added. This is the second such incident reported involving an aircraft operated by the regional airline. The first occurred in 2017 when a South Supreme Airlines plane caught fire and made a crash landing, but there were no fatalities. Kur Kuol, director of the South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority, told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus Wednesday that preliminary investigations suggest both engines failed minutes before the plane went down.
“In just 10 minutes from Pieri, according to the information that we have, one engine stopped and then it was about to return to the airstrip, the other stopped and so the plane crashed,” said Kuol. Investigators with the South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority are searching for the plane’s black box, said Kuol. The plane was in good condition before takeoff, according to Ayii Duang Ayii, director of South Supreme Airlines. There is no airplane allowed to take off when there are technical problems. [A] captain can’t accept to take off when he knows there are some problems in the plane, so we don’t know what has happened with the plane,” Ayii told South Sudan in Focus.
The plane was co-piloted by a 30-year-old South Sudanese/American pilot who received his flight training in the U.S. before returning to South Sudan more than 10 years ago when he began working for South Supreme Airlines. Every plane is under national rules. Later we shall find out the cause of the crash and who is to blame,” Ayii told VOA. In March 2017, an Antonov An-26 belonging to South Supreme Airlines was destroyed in a fire after it crashes landed at Wau Airport on a domestic flight from Juba.
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