2024 Malakal Airport collision

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2024 Malakal Airport collision

Accident
Date	31 March 2024 (2024-03-31)
Summary	Runway excursion following runway undershoot, under investigation
Site	Malakal Airport, South Sudan 9°33′09″N 31°38′45″E / 9.552428°N 31.645778°E / 9.552428; 31.645778
Total fatalities	0
Total injuries	1
Total survivors	7
First aircraft
5Y-IRE, one of the aircraft involved in the accident
Type	Boeing 727-2Q9F
Operator	Safe Air Company
Registration	5Y-IRE
Flight origin	Juba International Airport, South Sudan
Destination	Malakal Airport, South Sudan
Occupants	7
Passengers	1
Crew	6
Fatalities	0
Injuries	1
Survivors	7
Second aircraft
5Y-AXL, the other aircraft involved in the accident
Type	McDonnell Douglas MD-82
Operator	African Express Airways
Registration	5Y-AXL
Occupants	0

On 31 March 2024, a Boeing 727-200 operated by Safe Air Company scheduled to fly from Juba International Airport to Malakal Airport, South Sudan, undershot the runway after experiencing technical issues. The plane collided with a disabled McDonnell Douglas MD-82 that had crashed around two months earlier in the same airport. Out of the seven occupants on board, everyone survived with only one injured.

On 9 February 2024, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 registered 5Y-AXL and operated by African Express Airways crashed in similar circumstances as the Safe Air Boeing 727 did at Malakal Airport, South Sudan; the aircraft touched down short of the runway and lost its landing gear, before coming to a stop on its belly. It was later removed from the runway to allow the airport to restart operations.^{[citation needed]}

The first aircraft involved in the collision was a 45-year-old Boeing 727-2Q9 Advanced registered as 5Y-IRE with serial numbers 21931/1531.^{[citation needed]}

The second aircraft involved was a 39-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-82 registered 5Y-AXL with serial numbers 49204/1179. It was first delivered to Alitalia in 1985.^{[citation needed]}

On 31 March 2024, the Boeing 727-200 took off from Juba Airport carrying supplies and other cargo. The flight proceeded normally until the descent, when the crew experienced technical problems with the aircraft and decided to make an emergency landing at Malakal. The plane touched down short of the runway, causing several tires to burst and subsequently, the Captain, who was flying the aircraft lost control. The aircraft continued across the grass for some distance before it struck the damaged McDonnell Douglas MD-82. Both aircraft sustained substantial damage, with the wreckage of the Boeing 727 coming to rest in two sections. There were no fatalities and one reported injury.^[1][2][3][4]

An investigation is currently ongoing to try to figure out why the aircraft crashed.^{[citation needed]}