2025 Light Air Services Beechcraft 1900 crash
.jpg) A Beechcraft 1900D, similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 29 January 2025 |
| Summary | Crashed after takeoff; under investigation |
| Site | near GPOC Unity Airstrip, Rubkona County, Unity State, South Sudan |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Beechcraft 1900D |
| Operator | Light Air Services |
| Registration | 5X-RHB |
| Flight origin | GPOC Unity Airstrip, Rubkona County, Unity State, South Sudan |
| Destination | Juba International Airport, Juba, South Sudan |
| Occupants | 21 |
| Passengers | 19 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 20 |
| Injuries | 1 |
| Survivors | 1 |
On 29 January 2025, a Beechcraft 1900D operated by Light Air Services, performing a scheduled charter flight, crashed in Unity State, located in the Greater Upper Nile region of South Sudan shortly after takeoff, killing 20 of the 21 occupants onboard. The aircraft was carrying oil workers, transporting them to the South Sudanese capital Juba.[1]
Background
There were 21 people aboard the aircraft; 19 passengers and 2 pilots. Sixteen of the passengers were South Sudanese, while one Indian, two Chinese nationals and two Ugandan crew were also on board.[2] The aircraft was operated by Light Air Services aviation company and was chartered by the passengers' employer, the Chinese petroleum firm Greater Pioneer Oil Company (GPOC), which is a consortium of China National Petroleum Corporation and Nile Petroleum Corporation.[1][3][4]
Crash
The aircraft was performing a scheduled charter flight.[5] At around 10:30 am local time, the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff at a distance of 500 meters from its airport of origin. Twenty of the 21 people on board were killed, with the lone survivor identified as a South Sudanese engineer who was taken to the state hospital in Bentiu. Images of the crash site showed the aircraft upside down in a field.[1] There were reports that one of the plane's wings snapped off before the crash.[6]
Investigation
Saleh Akot, the director of Juba International Airport, said that the South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority deployed a team to the crash site to start the investigation.[7]
References
- ^ a b c "Plane crash in South Sudan kills at least 20 people". Al Jazeera. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
- ^ "South Sudan plane crash kills at least 20, leaves only one survivor". BBC News. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
- ^ Machol, Deng (29 January 2025). "20 killed when a Chinese oil company's flight crashes in South Sudan". AP News. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
- ^ "Plane crash in South Sudan kills 20 oil workers". Reuters. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Le crash d'un Beechcraft 1900 au Soudan du Sud fait 20 morts" [The crash of a Beechcraft 1900 in South Sudan leaves 20 dead]. Air Journal (in French). 30 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
- ^ Hradecky, Simon (29 January 2025). "Crash: Eagle B190 at Bentiu on Jan 29th 2025, lost height". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
- ^ "South Sudan: At least 19 killed in plane crash". Radio Tamazuj. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.