Sudan Airways Flight 139

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Sudan Airways Flight 139
Sudan Airways Boeing 737-200Adv ST-AFK FCO Oct 1989.png

The affected machine in October 1989
Accident summary
Accident type Loss of control after engine failure
place Port Sudan , SudanSudanSudan 
date July 8, 2003
Fatalities 116
Survivors 1
Injured 1
Aircraft
Aircraft type United StatesUnited States Boeing 737-2J8C Adv.
operator SudanSudan Sudan Airways
Mark SudanSudan ST-AFK
Surname White Nile
Departure airport Port Sudan Airport , SudanSudanSudan 
Destination airport Khartoum Airport , SudanSudanSudan 
Passengers 106
crew 11
Lists of aviation accidents

The Sudan Airways flight 139 (flight number IATA : SD139 , ICAO : SUD139 , call sign: SUDANAIR 139 ) was a line domestic flight of the airline Sudan Airways from airport Port Sudan to Khartoum airport . On July 8, 2003, a Boeing 737-2J8C Adv. With the aircraft registration ST-AFK had an accident on this flight after a loss of control. 116 of 117 people on board were killed in the accident. Only the two-year-old boy Mohammed el-Fateh Osman survived.

machine

The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 737-2J8C Adv., Which was 27 years and 11 months old at the time of the accident. The machine was assembled at the Boeing plant in Renton , Washington and made its maiden flight on August 29, 1975 before being delivered to Sudan Airways on September 15, 1975 . The aircraft had the factory number 21169, it was the 429th Boeing 737 from ongoing production. The machine was approved with the aircraft registration ST-AFK and was given the name White Nile . The twin- engined , narrow -body aircraft was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7 engines.

Crew, passengers and flight plan

The inland line flight SD139 from Port Sudan to Khartoum had taken 106 passengers. There was a crew of eleven on board. Among the 117 inmates were 109 Sudanese, three Indians , one Chinese , a British employee of the Oxfam aid organization , a citizen of the United Arab Emirates , an Ethiopian and a woman whose citizenship was not disclosed. According to the passenger list, 17 occupants of the machine were children. The flight time should be around 30 minutes.

the accident

The plane took off from Port Sudan Airport at 4:00 a.m. An engine failure occurred just 15 minutes after take-off. In consultation with air traffic control, the pilots then turned back to make an emergency landing at Port Sudan Airport. The air traffic controller gave clearance for an ILS approach with subsequent landing on runway 35 of the airport. Due to a sandstorm , visibility was only four kilometers. During the approach, the pilots could not see the runway. You made a missed approach . The pilots then lost control of the machine. The Boeing 737 hit a wasteland five kilometers east of the airport . The wreckage spread over a distance of 180 meters.

Victim and survivor

116 of the 117 people on board the Boeing 737 were killed in the accident. The only survivor was the two-year-old boy Mohammed el-Fateh Osman, who suffered burns on his hand and face and lost his right leg in the accident. Mohammed had taken the flight with his mother, who was among the dead. The Emir of Abu Dhabi , Zayid bin Sultan Al Nahyan , donated money to Mohammed's father so that he could fly with his son to the United Kingdom for medical treatment . The boy was treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London .

root cause

Sudan's Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said US sanctions imposed on Sudan in 1997 in response to the ongoing civil war in the country contributed to the accident. Because of these sanctions, it was not possible for the state airline to order aircraft parts and maintain their machines adequately. The accident machine has not been serviced for years. The plane that crashed was the only one owned by Sudan Airways. All other machines were leased .

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