On February 11, 2009, a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (registration 5Y-BUQ) operated by Airworks was involved in an aviation accident near Boma, South Sudan during landing or approach. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The collapse of the aircraft's landing gear during landing led to a runway excursion and subsequent fire. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A); 2 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
A single-engine aircraft operating a humanitarian mission crashed and caught fire upon landing at Boma Airstrip, though all occupants escaped without injury.
What happened
During a humanitarian mission conducted for the World Food Program, a single-engine aircraft was traveling from Juba to Boma. The flight was carrying a total of three people, including two pilots and one passenger. As the aircraft was touching down at Boma Airstrip, a failure occurred in the landing gear, causing it to collapse.
Following the gear collapse, the aircraft slid across the runway for several dozen meters. The momentum of the slide resulted in the aircraft bursting into flames. Despite the intensity of the fire, which ultimately destroyed the aircraft, the crew and the passenger were able to evacuate the wreckage. There were zero fatalities and zero injuries reported among the three individuals on board.
Findings
The primary factor in the accident was the collapse of the landing gear during the landing phase of flight.
Probable cause
The collapse of the aircraft's landing gear during landing led to a runway excursion and subsequent fire.