Witnesses say a cargo plane has crashed at the international airport in Somalia’s capital. There was s no immediate confirmation of any casualties. Photos posted from the scene show the plane’s cockpit crushed against a concrete barrier just steps from the sea. Silverstone cargo plane crashes in Mogadishu
A Kenyan cargo plane on Saturday crashed at Mogadishu’s main airport in Somalia, injuring two of the five crew members.
Following the accident, the Aden Adde International Airport was shut down briefly as emergency personnel attended to the crew who were aboard the Silverstone plane.
The aircraft, a Dash-8, was on its way to deliver supplies to the African Union Mission (Amisom) forces in Beledwyene, some 335 km north of Mogadishu in Central Somalia.
It failed to lift while taking off and hit a perimeter wall of the airport, officials said.
Witnesses said the aircraft had circled around the airport at low altitude before attempting an emergency landing.
Photos shared on social media showed the plane had rammed a wall on the edge of the airport.
The aircraft registered in Kenya as 5Y-MHT routinely operates cargo flights to and within Somalia, delivering supplies to both UN and Amisom centres. Ahmed Moalim Hassan, the Director-General of the Somalia Civil Aviation Authority confirmed the accident saying there had been two injuries.
The Somalia Civil Aviation Authority confirms the crash at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu on Saturday.
Markings on the plane indicate that it is operated by Silverstone Air in neighboring Kenya. The company cannot immediately be reached.
A spokesman for the U.N. mission in Somalia, shown in photos responding to the crash, did not immediately respond to a request for details.
The heavily fortified airport is home to diplomatic missions and serves as a hub for humanitarian flights in the Horn of Africa nation trying to rebuild from three decades of conflict.
The plane operated by Blue Bird Aviation, had been contracted by the UN to deliver foodstuff and other humanitarian supplies to Beledwyene.
Officials said that the plane, a Fokker, had flown with the goods from Djibouti City. But as it approached it landed on the marram runway of the local airstrip in Somalia, around 1.30pm, it encountered mechanical problems.
In May, a Kenyan aircraft was shot down as it approached an airstrip in Bardale manned by the Ethiopian troops who were not part of Amisom. All the six on board were killed. But the incident created controversy after it emerged the Ethiopian troops that ‘mistakenly’ shot it down were not part of the Amisom troops. Silverstone cargo plane crashes in Mogadishu
Source Nation Africa
