- Director General at the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation Bashir Moalim says the safety of passengers remains their top priority
- He said they are committed to investigating the accident "thoroughly and transparently" in accordance with international standards.
Image: HANDOUT
The aircraft accident that happened at Aden Abdulle Airport in Mogadishu on July 11 was caused by wind shear at the Landing Area (Runway 05).
This is according to preliminary investigations by Somalia's Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation.
Wind shear is a change in wind speed and/or direction over a short distance.
It can occur either horizontally or vertically and is most often associated with strong temperature inversions or density gradients, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
In a statement dated July 27, the ministry said the accident, which involved an E120 aircraft belonging to Halla Airlines, occurred after the pilot, a Tanzanian, lost control of the plane after it landed due to strong winds it encountered, causing it to break the left main landing gear.
This caused the aircraft to go off the runway to the left side, crashing into the fence, the statement added.
A video of the accident that happened at 12:23 pm local time showed the plane skidding on the runway before hitting a fence detaching the cockpit, with a wheel seen flying from the plane.
There were 30 passengers and four crew members on board, with two people suffering minor injuries.
"Thank God, no one died in the plane crash, but there were minor injuries to (2) two passengers of the plane,” the statement said.
Director General at the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation Bashir Moalim said the safety of passengers remains their top priority, and that they are committed to investigating the accident "thoroughly and transparently" in accordance with international standards.
"We will continue to keep the public informed of any updates as the investigation progresses. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those impacted by this unfortunate incident," Moalim added.
Image: HANDOUT
The ministry said it will, according to the Civil Aviation Authority Act, issue a final report on the accident within one year, when it studies the information from the Black Box and CVR [Cockpit Voice Recorder] once the general investigation is completed.
The aircraft had taken off from Garowe Airport destined for Aden Abdulle Airport in Mogadishu.
Regarding the safety of the aircraft, the ministry said it had undergone the last maintenance on May 5 and was granted the Release to Service certificate, showing that was airworthy.
"This certificate was obtained from a maintenance company based in South Africa (MRO),” it said.
At the time of the accident, the report showed the weather was good and there was no rain.
"The wind was blowing from the southwest (210) and its speed was 17 miles per hour. The previous aircraft landed on the same runway with the same weather condition," it said.
"The captain, a Tanzanian, had an ATPL (Air Transport Pilot License) and had enough experience to operate the plane."
On July 18, 2022, a Jubba Airways Fokker 50 crashed during landing on runway 05 at the Aden Adde International Airport.
According to the incident report, the aircraft experienced wind shear at a low altitude, after which the pilots lost control of the aircraft during the final approach to runway 05.
"The Fokker 50 then hit the runway hard and the left-hand wing broke at the wing root. The aircraft rolled inverted and came to rest next to the runway. A fire broke out but was extinguished by firefighters. Three passengers suffered minor injuries,” the report added.
On August 9, 2013, an Antonov An-24 operated by the Ethiopian Air Force crashed while attempting to land at Aden Abdulle International Airport.