2023 Halla Airlines Embraer Brasilia crash

The Halla Airines flight originated in Garowe Airport and departed to Aden Adde International Airport somewhere between 10:30 am and 11:00 am EAT (07:30 - 08:00 UTC). After a flight of around 2 hours, the aircraft landed on runway 05 with a tailwind component of 17 kts (31.5 km/h).[1] As it touched down, the left landing gear collapsed and detached off the aircraft, causing it to veer to the left of the runway and violently swung 180 degrees while skidding to the side, until it collided with the concrete perimeter fence of the airport at 12:23 pm EAT (09:23 UTC), as captured by a CCTV camera.[1][2][3] The crash caused damage to the cockpit section, even breaking the fuselage behind the cockpit, and destroyed both propellers of the aircraft, thus being written off (damaged beyond repair).[4]

The Somali government's Minister of Transport and Aviation, Fardowso Osman Igaal, gave an interview reporting that only 2 of the 34 occupants of the aircraft were injured during the accident, one of them being a female passenger who suffered a broken neck.[5] Eyewitnesses reported that emergency services were swift in their response, providing immediate medical attention and ensuring the safety of those on board.[4]

At the time of the accident, the report showed the weather was clear with good visibility. The wind was blowing from the southwest (210) and its speed was 17 kts. The previous aircraft landed on the same runway with the same weather condition.[1][3]

The aircraft involved in the accident is an approximately 33.5 years old Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, delivered on 24 February 1990 to American airline Britt Airways, operating on behalf of Continental Express. After leaving Continental in 2001, it bounced a few operators, before landing with Halla Airlines in February 2021.[6][7][8]

The captain, a Tanzanian, had an Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) and had enough experience to operate the aircraft.[1]

Following the accident, the airport was closed during an unknown period of time.[6] This accident results in the 10th worst aviation accident in Somalia, and caused the 27th loss of 357 Embraer EMB-120 built.[9]

In a statement dated July 27, the ministry said the accident, which involved an Embraer EMB-120 aircraft belonging to Halla Airlines, occurred after the pilot, a Tanzanian, lost control of the plane after it landed due to strong tailwinds it encountered. This generated a dangerous wind shear, which caused the left main landing gear to break upon a hard touch down, thus making the aircraft to go off the runway to the left side and crashing into the airport perimeter concrete fence, the statement added.[1] These preliminary investigations conclude that the main factor to cause the accident was the wind shear generated upon landing due to the 17 kts tailwind that was hitting the aircraft from southwest (210).[10]

Regarding the safety of the aircraft, the ministry said it had undergone the last maintenance on May 5 and was granted the Release to Service Certificate (CRS), showing that was airworthy.[1]

The ministry said it will, according to the Civil Aviation Authority Act (CAA), issue a final report on the accident within one year, when it studies the information from both flight recorders, Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) once the general investigation is completed.[1]

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