A cargo plane on Friday morning crashed in the Referendum suburb in Juba City shortly after taking off from Juba International Airport (JIA).

The director of JIA, Kur Kuol, said the LET-410 aircraft owned by Fly Air Africa which was headed for Lankien town in Jonglei State developed a mechanical problem and crash landed near a small swamp after taking off.

He said the plane had five people on board including two crew members who all survived.  

“The plane took off from Juba International Airport this (Friday) morning and was going to a place called Lankien,” Kuol said. “I think it developed a technical fault so it crash landed near a swampy place.”

South Sudan has had several plane crashes in the last few years. On 2 March 2021, a Let L-410 belonging to South Sudan Supreme Airlines crashed in Pieri, Uror County, killing all on board.

In August 2020, eight people lost their lives, while a single passenger survived with injuries when a cargo plane crashed into a farm in the Kemeru area minutes after it took off from JIA.

19 people were killed in 2018 when a small aircraft carrying passengers from Juba to Yirol crashed.

In 2017, 37 people miraculously survived after their plane hit a fire truck on a runway in Wau before bursting into flames.

In 2015, 36 people were killed when a Soviet-era Antonov plane crashed just after takeoff in Juba.