1998 Sudanese Air Force An-32 crash

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1998 Sudan Air Force crash
Sudanese Police Antonov An-32B Onyshchenko-1.jpg
An Antonov An-32 similar to the aircraft involved
Accident
Date12 February 1998
Summary Runway overshoot in inclement weather
Site Nasir, South Sudan
8°36′58″N33°04′04″E / 8.61616°N 33.06766°E / 8.61616; 33.06766
Aircraft
Aircraft type Antonov An-32
OperatorEnsign of the Sudanese Air Force.svg  Sudanese Air Force
Registration 7744
Flight origin Malakal Airport, South Sudan
Destination Nasir Airport [lower-alpha 1] , South Sudan
Occupants57
Passengers50
Crew7
Fatalities26
Survivors31

On 12 February 1998, a Sudanese Air Force Antonov An-32 crashed in Nasir killing several of the country's most senior government leaders, including the Vice-President Zubair Mohamed Salih. [1] [2]

Contents

On the morning of 12 February 1998, a Sudanese Air Force Antonov An-32 turboprop attempted to land at Nasir Airport. The craft overshot the end of the runway and slid into the Sobat River. [3] The Sudanese government announced that fog and strong winds had caused the crash. [4] The SPLA's spokesman in Nairobi announced that the crash had not been an accident, but had been caused by an SPLA attack. [1]

Casualties

Of the 57 crew and passengers on board, 26 drowned in the river. Among the dead were:

Information Minister Brigadier Mohamad Kheir and another minister survived. [7] [8]

Notes

  1. The airport has since been renamed as Velana International Airport.

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References

  1. 1 2 McKinley, James (13 February 1998). "Influential Sudan Official Is Killed in Plane Crash". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  2. Taban, Alfred (13 February 2013). "Sudan's First Vice President killed in plane crash". Reuters – AlertNet. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  3. Committee for Peace and Reconstruction in Sudan. (28 February 1998). "Nasir Plane Crash". Sudan Update. 9 (4): 1. ISSN   1352-0393 . Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  4. "Air Crash Kills High Sudanese Leaders". AP. 13 February 1998.
  5. "Vice President of Sudan dies in plane crash". CBC News. 12 February 1998. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  6. Quantin, Patrick (2005). Gouverner les sociétés africaines: acteurs et institutions. Paris: Karthala. p. 296. ISBN   978-2-84586-644-7.
  7. "Sudanese Vice President killed in plane crash". BBC News. 12 February 1998. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  8. "Sudan buries plane crash victims". BBC News. 13 February 1998. Retrieved 30 August 2013.