Probe after plane skids off runway killing 29 people

AIR accident investigators were yesterday still trying to discover what caused an airliner to skid off a runway and burst into flames on landing in Khartoum.

At least 29 passengers and crew were killed, but 171 managed to escape, the Sudan Civil Aviation Authority has said. As the wreckage of the Airbus was being examined, a fuel tank overheated in the summer sun and exploded, injuring two civil defence workers.

The Sudan Airways plane skidded off the runway at Khartoum International Airport and hit navigation poles marking the end of the runway, sparking a fire on the right side of the aircraft. One survivor said the landing was “rough” and there was a sharp impact several minutes later.

“The right wing was on fire,” said the passenger, who did not give his name. He said smoke got into the cockpit and some people started opening the emergency exits. Soon, fire engulfed the plane, he said.

Passenger Kamal Eddin Mohammed said: “As we landed, the engine burst into flame — I was sitting right next to it.

“It was horror inside the plane,” he said.

A sandstorm had earlier hit the area and there was heavy winds and rain at the time of the crash.

But there still has been no conclusive evidence as to what caused the crash.

Airbus is sending a team of specialists to Khartoum to help in the investigation.