MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Somali passenger plane made an emergency crash-landing on the shoreline beside Mogadishu’s international airport on Tuesday morning after a technical fault, with all 55 people on board surviving, according to airline Starsky Aviation and the country’s aviation regulator.
Starsky Aviation said the pilot’s “swift and calm decision-making” helped save the 50 passengers and five crew after the aircraft, a Fokker 50, reported a problem shortly after takeoff from Aden Adde International Airport and requested to return.
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Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the twin‑turboprop touched down at the airport but failed to stop on the runway, overshooting the tarmac before coming to rest in shallow water along the Indian Ocean. “It then touched down but failed to stop on the runway, overshooting the tarmac before coming to rest in shallow water,” CAA Director Ahmed Moalim Hassan said. The exact nature of the technical issue was not immediately clear.
Footage posted on X appeared to show passengers stepping off the aircraft and walking away from the wreckage on the beach as waves lapped around the fuselage. No serious injuries were reported by authorities or the airline.
The African Union’s mission in Somalia said UN and AU troops were “swiftly deployed” to assist with rescue efforts. Somalia’s transport minister also visited the scene, according to a post from the mission on X.
“We are relieved to confirm that all passengers and crew are safe. Investigations are underway to establish what caused the technical issue that led to the emergency landing,” Starsky spokesman Hassan Mohamed Aden said. “The pilot’s swift and calm decision-making played a decisive role in ensuring the safety of everyone on board, and we commend him for how he handled the situation.”
The Fokker 50 is a regional turboprop commonly used across Africa for short‑haul routes. Photos and video from the shoreline showed damage consistent with a high‑energy overrun, though officials offered no immediate assessment of the airframe’s condition pending a formal review.
The incident unfolded shortly after the plane departed Mogadishu, when the crew alerted air traffic control to a technical difficulty and sought priority to land, the CAA said. After touchdown, the aircraft was unable to stop within the runway confines. The airport sits along the coast, with the runway parallel to the shoreline, leaving the aircraft to settle in shallow surf after passing beyond the paved surface.
Authorities did not say how long the runway was closed or whether wider airport operations were affected. The airline and the CAA gave no timeline for the investigation but said further details would be released once preliminary findings were available.
Somalia has worked to improve aviation safety oversight as passenger volumes increase on domestic and regional routes. Tuesday’s emergency landing, which ended without fatalities, will place scrutiny on maintenance, pilot response, and runway safety systems as investigators reconstruct the flight’s final moments on the ground.
In the meantime, Starsky Aviation commended the crew and first responders who helped evacuate passengers from the partially submerged aircraft. Images from the scene showed rescuers and security forces coordinating along the water’s edge as passengers moved away from the fuselage.
Officials urged the public to avoid speculation until the technical inquiry determines what caused the malfunction that forced the landing. The airline asked affected passengers to contact its support teams for assistance.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
