Investigation Summary
The flight originated in Khartoum and made a scheduled stop at Nyala before proceeding to Zalingei. Upon arrival at Zalingei Airport, which features a dirt runway, the crew encountered favorable weather conditions. However, the approach resulted in a series of heavy impacts. The initial touchdown was severe enough to cause the aircraft to bounce, followed by a second heavy contact that led to structural failure of the landing gear and engine mounts. The investigation faced significant hurdles due to the failure of onboard recording equipment. The flight data recorder was found to contain no data, and the cockpit voice recorder only held four minutes of audio from a previous flight, providing no insight into the crew's communication during the accident sequence. Despite these limitations, investigators determined that the structural breakup and subsequent fire were the direct result of the unstable landing sequence.
Final Conclusions
The Sudan Air Accident Investigation Central Directorate (SAAICD) concluded that the accident was caused by poor flight crew performance and a lack of coordination during the landing phase. The investigation officially attributed the crash to pilot error and CRM failures, resulting in four safety recommendations to the operator and regulatory authorities.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Systems & Failure Modes
Flight Data Recorder
The FDR failed to record any parameters of the flight, depriving investigators of technical data regarding the approach speed and descent rate.
Cockpit Voice Recorder
The CVR was non-functional for the duration of the accident flight, containing only four minutes of irrelevant audio from a prior operation.
Landing Gear
The landing gear assemblies were sheared off during the second heavy impact with the runway surface.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was 40 years old at the time of the accident, having been built in 1970.
- 02The Zalingei Airport runway was a dirt surface.
- 03The flight data recorder (FDR) was found to be completely blank.
- 04The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) contained no audio from the accident flight.
- 05Six people sustained injuries in addition to the two fatalities.
Safety Actions & Advisories
SAAICD Recommendations
The Sudanese investigation authority issued four safety recommendations focused on improving crew coordination and landing performance.