Passenger plane crash-lands at Mogadishu airport

Airplanes are parked at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Feb. 13, 2022. A passenger plane crash-landed at the airport on July 11, 2023. PHOTO | AFP

Photo credit: File | AFP

A passenger plane on a domestic flight crash-landed at Mogadishu's international airport on Tuesday.

All 30 passengers and four crew members survived, the Somali Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) said in a statement.

The E-120 aircraft, operated by local airline company Halla Airlines, was flying from Garowe in Somalia's Puntland region to Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport. The incident occurred at 12:23 p.m. Mogadishu time.

"There was no fatality from the accident except minor injuries," the SCAA said in a brief statement.

"The Somali Civil Aviation Authority would like to reaffirm that the preliminary report will be released once the current investigation concludes."

Closed-circuit television footage of the incident shows the plane veering off the runway immediately after it landed.

The pilot did not report any issues to the air traffic control tower prior to the incident.

Ismail Mohamud from Halla Airlines told VOA Somali that results from the investigation will be reported later.

"We are now working on the plane's issue," he said in a brief telephone interview.

Early indications suggest pilot error may have been the cause, according to a Somali official who did not want to be named.

"Facts will be established once the cockpit voice recorder and black box are analysed," he added.

Somalia's airport authorities have improved services in recent years, retaking air traffic control from the United Nations. Earlier this year, Somalia regained its Class A classification from the International Air Transport Association.

More than 150 domestic and international flights use Mogadishu's airport daily, according to the airport authority. Major international carriers that use the airport include Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways and Ethiopian Airlines.