What happened
During a flight originating from Khartoum, the flight crew initiated their descent toward Malakal. After completing necessary pre-landing checklists and attempting to extend the landing gear, the crew identified a mechanical issue involving the left main gear, which failed to exit the wheel well.
Due to the deployment failure, the decision was made to abort the destination and return to Khartoum-Haj Yusuf Airport. While approaching runway 18, the crew attempted to manually deploy the gear, but the mechanism remained non-functional. The aircraft subsequently touched down with only the nose gear and the right main gear in the extended position.
Upon contact with the runway, the left wing struck the pavement. The aircraft continued to slide for approximately 1,350 metres before veering toward the left side of the runway and coming to a halt. There were no fatalities among the 45 occupants, all of whom evacuated the aircraft without injury. The aircraft was subsequently declared a total loss.
Findings
- The primary issue was a technical malfunction preventing the left main landing gear from deploying from its wheel well.