Pilot praised after crash-landing faulty plane on seashore

A passenger plane, Fokker 50, carrying 55 people crash-landed in shallow water near Mogadishu’s Aden Abdulle International Airport on Tuesday, no injuries have been reported.

The plane, operated by Starsky Aviation, had taken off from the Somali capital and was bound for the northern city of Gaalkacyo when the crew reported a technical problem about 15 minutes after takeoff and requested to return to the airport, according to Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority.

Ahmed Macalin Hassan, the CAA director, said the pilot then attempted to land, but the aircraft failed to stop on the runway and overshot the tarmac before coming to rest in shallow water near the shoreline.

Pictures posted on social media from the scene showed passengers walking away from the wreckage of the plane.

Starsky Aviation chief executive Ahmed Nur said “the aircraft overran on the runway” before the pilot crash-landed on the shoreline near the international airport. He added: “No injuries, no deaths.”

Starsky spokesperson Hassan Mohamed Aden said in a statement: “We are relieved to confirm that all passengers and crew are safe. Investigations are underway to establish what caused the technical issue that led to the emergency landing.

“The pilot’s swift and calm decision-making played a decisive role in ensuring the safety of everyone on board, and we commend him for how he handled the situation,” he added.

He applauded the pilot’s handling of the situation, saying his “swift and calm decision-making” ensured the safety of everyone on board.

It is not yet clear what the technical fault was.

In a statement, the Somali Civil Aviation Authority said that “an aircraft with registration number 60-YAS, an F50, was involved in a runway overrun at Mogadishu Aden Abdulle International Airport”.

It added: “The aircraft was carrying 55 people on board. All occupants survived the incident and were promptly transported to a nearby hospital for medical evaluation and care.

“No fatalities have been reported.”