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A Somali airline has praised one of its pilots after he safely crash-landed a passenger plane on the shoreline near Mogadishu’s international airport, following a technical fault, with all 55 people on board surviving.
Starsky Aviation said the pilot’s quick thinking was crucial in saving the lives of the 50 passengers and five crew members.
The aircraft, a Fokker 50, developed a problem shortly after taking off from Mogadishu on Tuesday morning and requested permission to return to the airport, according to Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
After touching down, the plane failed to stop on the runway, overshot the tarmac and came to rest in shallow water along the Indian Ocean shoreline, CAA director Ahmed Macalin Hassan said. The exact cause of the malfunction has not yet been confirmed.
Videos shared on social media showed passengers calmly exiting the aircraft and walking away from the wreckage on the beach. No serious injuries have been reported.
The African Union mission in Somalia said UN and AU forces were rapidly deployed to assist with rescue efforts. Somalia’s transport minister was also present at the scene, the mission said in a post on X.
“We are relieved to confirm that all passengers and crew are safe,” Starsky Aviation spokesperson Hassan Mohamed Aden said. “Investigations are under way to determine the technical issue that led to the emergency landing.
“The pilot’s swift and calm decision-making played a decisive role in ensuring everyone’s safety, and we commend him for how he handled the situation,” he added.
