Sudanese carrier ignored orders to ground doomed plane: report
August 27, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – A Russian plane that crashed last week in Sudan’s southern region of Kordofan was ordered to be grounded by inspectors four days before takeoff, a local newspaper has revealed, shedding more light on the mishap that killed 32 people including top government officials.
The pro-government daily Al-Intibaha reported on Monday that the local carrier to which the plane belongs, Alfa Airlines, had ignored a decision by the country’s aviation authorities to ground its Antonov AN-26 fleet after an inspection team concluded that the plane’s condition was in serious violations of safety standards.
The paper published a letter addressed to Alfa Airlines from the director of safety and standards department at the Sudanese Civil Aviation Corporation (SCAP) Haile Belai who stated that the violations identified by the team include “violations of flight time limitations and fuel carried not covering the minimum required for a flight”.
He pointed out that the inspection team produced its report on 16 August and discussed the findings with the Alfa Air management, informing it that “such abuse of regulatory and safety requirements should immediately stop”.
![Aircraft similar to the one which crashed (Antonov AN-26) Aircraft similar to the one which crashed (Antonov AN-26)](https://sudantribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/jpg_plane-2.jpg)
“It is therefore decided that the AN-24 and AN-26 aircraft be grounded until the inspection is completed above” the letter stated.
The revelation will certainly stoke public anger over the incident which saw the chief of SCAP, Mohammed Abdel Aziz, tendering his resignation to President Omer Al-Bashir who is yet to accept it.
Meanwhile, the authorities announced the beginning of an investigation into the crash and said that the plane’s black box will be sent to Russia to determine the cause of the crash.
Sudan complains that its aviation sector has been degraded by more than ten years of US economic sanctions which prevent the country from buying spare parts. Recently the European Union decided to ban Sudanese aircraft from entering its airspace citing lack of safety standards.
(ST)