Cargo Aircraft Crash at Heglig Airport (ST-AQQ)

Incident Overview and Flight Details A four-engine aircraft departed Khartoum Airport at 0738 local time on a cargo flight to Heglig. The aircraft was carrying four crew members and a cargo load of 13 tons of various goods. The source does not specify the aircraft type, registration, or operator. ## Approach and Impact During the final approach to Heglig Airport, the aircraft was too low. It collided with obstacles and a concrete block located 16 meters short of the runway threshold. This concrete block housed an element of the approach light system. After the impact, the aircraft bounced, nosed down, and landed nose-first 52 meters further down the runway. ## Post-Impact Events Following a course of 183 meters, a tire on the right main gear burst. The captain instructed the flight engineer to activate the reverse thrust systems, but the flight engineer did not check the power levers. The aircraft then veered off the runway to the left, lost its left main gear, and came to rest. All four occupants escaped uninjured, while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. ## Probable Cause and Contributing Factors The official investigation identified the probable cause as a wrong approach configuration, which caused the aircraft to land short of the runway. Contributing factors included the flight engineer unlocking props I, II, and III at a throttle position of less than 20 degrees UPRT, and prop IV at 40 degrees UPRT. Additionally, the investigation noted the unrectification of nose wheel and main landing gear cracks as recommended by the manufacturer.