There was panic when a United Nations
aircraft crash-landed at Aden Adde Airport in Mogadishu on Tuesday afternoon
following a mechanical malfunction involving its front landing gear.
Authorities said that a "small
fire" was put out after the aircraft crash-landed at the airport, but no
injuries were reported among the 22 people on board in the incident that
occurred around 2 pm local time.
Fevori LLC, a Turkish company that
manages the airport, confirmed the incident.
The incident, which was also confirmed
by the Somali Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA), happened after the pilot
conducted an emergency landing, during which the nose of the aircraft made
contact with the surface.
"Thankfully, there were no fatalities or serious injuries. All individuals were safely evacuated and provided with medical checks and support on site," the company added.
The aircraft was flying UN personnel to
Baidoa, but experienced mechanical challenges in getting the gear down.
A decision was made to divert to
Mogadishu, a statement from Favori LIc said.
The airport's taxiway was temporarily closed to facilitate the emergency response and aircraft recovery.
The De Havilland Dash 8 (DH8D) aircraft operated by the UNSOS was departing from Mogadishu to Baidoa when the incident happened.
The company said it responded to the
incident within minutes, ensuring the safe evacuation of all passengers on
board.
A statement by SCAA said the aircraft experienced a technical issue with its nose after departing the airport at 11:16 am local time, forcing the pilot to initiate a return to Mogadishu.
"The aircraft safely executed a belly landing at Aden Adde International Airport at 13:28 local time. There were no casualties, and damage to the aircraft was minimal," the authority said.
The incident happened two weeks after five Kenyans died in an aircraft crash south west of Mogadishu after departing Dhobley en route to Aden Adde International Airport.
SCAA confirmed that the aircraft in this incident, a DHC-5D Buffalo, registration number 5Y-RBA, was operated by Trident Aviation Limited and government agencies alongside partners.
The bodies of the deceased have since been brought to Kenya.
The plane crashed after delivering supplies to African Union forces on March 22, at 5.43 pm local time.
