Officials point to poor visibility as a possible cause
All 14 people on board a small passenger aircraft died after it went down roughly 20km southwest of Juba on Monday, South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority (SSCAA) confirmed.
The plane, a Cessna 208 Caravan operated by CityLink Aviation, had been en route from Yei to the capital when it suddenly lost contact with air traffic control less than half an hour after takeoff.
According to aviation officials, the aircraft departed at 09:15 local time and disappeared from radar at around 09:43. On board were 13 passengers and one pilot. The victims included two Kenyan nationals and 12 citizens of South Sudan.
“Unfortunately, there were no survivors,” the SSCAA reported.
Preliminary findings suggest poor weather conditions may have played a key role in the crash, with low visibility cited as a possible factor. A response team has been dispatched to the crash site to investigate the circumstances and assist with recovery efforts.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but it has remained volatile since the end of a five-year civil war that erupted in 2013 over a feud between President Salva Kiir Mayardit and First Vice President Riek Machar, who is currently under arrest.
The country has faced challenges with aviation safety before. In January 2025, a Beechcraft 1900D carrying oil workers went down shortly after takeoff in Unity State en route to Juba, killing 20 of the 21 people on board.
In November, a cargo plane transporting humanitarian aid for Samaritan’s Purse also came down in Unity State, roughly 20km from Leer Airstrip near the Sudanese border. Operated by Nari Air, the aircraft had departed Juba carrying about two tons of supplies for communities affected by severe flooding.
