A 50-year-old Fokker F-27 Friendship Mk.600 was operating a cargo flight transporting ~5000 kilograms of relief supplies (food) from Mogadishu to Garbaharrey Airport(both in Somalia). The very short flight, <100 kilometres (~55 Nautical miles), was being operated by a crew of three.
The aircraft in its final position (© AAID Kenya) After the short flight, the aircraft was approaching Garbaharrey with the crew configuring the aircraft for landing. as per current procedures.
At 08.20 local time, the right-hand main landing gear collided with a 2 metres tall obstacle while on short final. (sources on the internet mention that the obstacle involved was an illegally built wall across the approach pad),
The crew kept the aircraft under control and a few seconds later the aircraft normally touched down on the runway, at which point the right-hand main landing gear collapsed. This caused the aircraft to veer to the right and exit the paved surface area of the runway. The Nose landing gear collapsed and the right-hand wing came into contact with the surface, causing a section of the wing to break off, resulting in a fuel spill and a fire, All four propellor blades of the right-hand engine were bent rearward.
The Aircraft in better days (©Bruce Perkins)
All three crew members escaped the aircraft without injuries, the fire was contained quickly. Both the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) were recovered and sent for analysis.
The damage to the aircraft was so substantial that it was written off as damaged beyond repair. An investigation into the accident is being carried out by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Department (AAID) of Kenya and is still ongoing at the time of writing this blog. Their preliminary report (which was used as one of the sources for this blog) can be accessed by clicking on the file below;