Oostend – Cairo – Mogadishu

On October 12, 2015 at 07:30 PM, Oostend – Cairo – Mogadishu experienced a crash involving Airbus A300, operated by Tristar Air, with the event recorded near Afgooye Shabeellaha Hoose (<U+0634><U+0628><U+064A><U+0644><U+064A> <U+0627><U+0644><U+0633><U+0641><U+0644><U+0649>).

The flight was categorized as cargo and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a plain, valley crash site.

6 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 6 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The crew was performing a cargo flight from Ostend to Mogadishu with an intermediate stop in Cairo with perishable goods on board on behalf of the AMISOM, the African Mission in Somalia. The final approach to Mogadishu-Aden Abdulle International Airport was performed by night. As the crew was unable to localize the runway, he abandoned the approach and initiated a go-around procedure. A second attempt was also interrupted and the crew initiated a new go-around then continued towards the north of the capital city. Eventually, the captain decided to attempt an emergency belly landing near Afgooye, about 25 km northwest of Mogadishu. Upon landing, the aircraft lost its both engines and came to rest in the bush. Two crew members were taken to hospital while four others were uninjured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair. According to Somalian Authorities, the International Airport of Mogadishu is open to traffic from 0600LT till 1800LT. For undetermined reason, the crew started the descent while the airport was already closed to all traffic (sunset at 1747LT). Also, an emergency landing was unavoidable, probably due to a fuel exhaustion. It is unknown why the crew did not divert to the alternate airport.

Aircraft reference details include registration SU-BMZ, MSN 129, year of manufacture 1980.