Sudan Airways Boeing 707 freighter crashes near Sharjah Airport
Sudan Airways flight 2241 crashed near Sharjah Airport soon after take off. It was a 707-300 freighter on wet lease from Azza Air. Azza owns two 707s. Accident description is available at the bottom of the page. The aircraft was a converted -330C variant with non-hushkitted JT3D engines.
The aircraft is ST-AKW, cn 20123/788, and had started its life as a passenger aircraft with Lufthansa in February 1969 as D-ABUJ. This old bird also served with Condor, UAE and had its final passenger flights with Nile Safaris under the same Sudanese registration.
A Sudanese Boeing 707 freighter flipped off the runway at Sharjah ( SHJ ) and caught fire. Six people inside and all believed to have died.
Eye witness ( aviation professional ) reported that the scene was shocking and the aircraft was totally burned and impossible to find survivors. Civil defence and Police is reportedly working hard and army is expected to arrive shortly.
UPDATE 2: Eyewitness reports that the pilot avoided populated areas and nosedived to the desert areas. Flight took off from the North runway. Appears to be a cargo charter.
UPDATE 3: Albert Dias, an eye witness, reports that the plane was red and green striped and appeared to have lost a panel, or a stabilizer, while taking off. According to him the plane fell off between a thin strip of road between a golf course and sand. He believes the plane to be an Azza Air one, which operates 707s and has a similar livery.
UPDATE 4 : It appears that the aircraft was being operated for Sudan Airways on a wet lease from Azza Air. Azza Deputy Ops. Mgr confirmed this to media. Sudan Airways was grounded last year for a month following crash of flight 109.
Aviation-safety.net Accident Report
Status:Preliminary
Date:21 OCT 2009
Time:15:30
Type:Boeing 707-300
Operating for:Sudan Airways
Leased from:AZZA Transport
Registration:
C/n / msn:
First flight:
Crew:Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6
Airplane damage: Destroyed
Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:ca 1 km N of Sharjah Airport (SHJ) (United Arab Emirates)
Phase: Takeoff (TOF)
Nature:Cargo
Departure airport:Sharjah Airport (SHJ/OMSJ), United Arab Emirates
Destination airport:Khartoum-Civil Airport (KRT/HSSS), Sudan
Flightnumber:2241
Narrative:A Boeing 707 cargo plane, owned by Azza Transport, was destroyed when it crashed in a desert area immediately after takeoff from Sharjah Airport (SHJ). The airplane operated on Sudan Airways flight SUD2241, crashed near the Emirates Road, broke up and burned.
May all of them rest in peace .
Thanks for sharing the news @kflyer. Reuters corroborated the Azza transport report and @nikhilsoneja reported the location of the crash.
Thanks a lot for taking time to leave a comment Albert. As you can see above, the flight details are now confirmed. Thanks a lot for reporting this news. It’s a social responsibility and you should be credited.
[...] Azza Air Transport 707-300C, operating for Sudan Airways, crashed on take off today. The aircraft bearing registration ST-AKW was first delivered as a passenger [...]