Summary
- African Express Airways’ MD-80 aircraft suffered severe damage as its landing gear collapsed upon landing.
- The 39-year-old aircraft was transporting returnees from Sudan to South Sudan and had been flying two flights day by day for the past two weeks.
- There have been no reports of injuries or casualties within the incident involving one among Africa’s last lively MD-80s.
One among Africa’s last lively McDonnell Douglas MD-80s has suffered extensive damage as its primary landing gear collapsed upon touching down at an airport in South Sudan. The aircraft was operating a domestic flight for African Express Airways, which is among the many few carriers still flying the sort.
Severe damage to the MD-80’s landing gear
The African Express Airways MD-80, registration 5Y-AXL, was on a flight from Malakal International Airport (MAK) within the northern a part of the country to Juba International Airport (JUB) within the South. While no data is offered on any flight trackers regarding this particular service, the 322 mi (518 km) journey would take roughly 45 minutes to finish.
While attempting to land in Malakal, the aircraft touched down in need of runway 04, and the primary landing gear collapsed. Images shared on X (formerly Twitter) show that the MD-80 eventually got here to a stop on the runway, resting on the rear side of the fuselage with the nose facing upwards. There have been no reports of injuries or casualties on the time of publishing.
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African Express Airways is a Somali-owned airline based at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), so it doesn’t operate regular flights between Malakal and Juba. Based on The Aviation Herald, Malakal’s Acting Governor stated that the national government had procured the MD-80 to airlift returnees from Sudan to South Sudan. It has been transporting about 300 passengers day by day on two flights for the past two weeks.
A 39-year-old aircraft
5Y-AXL is a 39-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-82. Based on ch-aviation, it was rolled out of production in January 1985 and delivered to Alitalia the next month with registration I-DAWL. The Italian carrier operated it until October 2008. African Airways Express acquired it in September 2009, changing it to a Kenyan registration.
Photo: African Express Airways
As of January 2009, it had gathered 50,234 flight hours across 41,018 cycles. It’s one among seven MD-80s still lively and really the oldest. The opposite six are operated by Canadian Airways (Congo), Dana Air (Nigeria), the Government of Eswatini, and the Chadian Air Force. Although still listed as lively, some don’t appear to have operated any flights in the previous couple of months.
5Y-AXL has a capability of 155 passengers, with 141 seats in economy and 14 in business class. The MD-80, also generally known as ‘Mad Dog’ or ‘Super 80,’ has a five-abreast configuration (one among the features of the DC-9). The aircraft was produced by McDonnell Douglas from 1979 to 1997 after which by Boeing until 1999. A complete of 1,191 were built, with the last one being delivered to TWA. Today, lower than 60 remain in passenger service worldwide.
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About African Express Airways
African Express Airways was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. As of February 2024, it flies to 4 international destinations, including Entebbe, Uganda (EBB), Mogadishu, Somalia (MGQ), Hargeisa, Somaliland (HGA), and Seiyun, Yemen (GXF). Prior to now, it has served more popular destinations like Cairo (CAI) and Dubai (DXB).