The 1998 Sudan Air Force crash was the crash of a

Sudanese Air Force The Sudanese Air Force ( ar, القوّات الجوّيّة السودانيّة, Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya As-Sudaniya) is the air force operated by the Republic of the Sudan. As such it is part of the Sudanese Armed Forces. History The Sudanese A ...

transport plane at

Nasir Nasir ( ar, ناصر, translit=Nāṣir) is a masculine given name, commonly found in Arabic which can mean "helper" or "one who gives victory" (grammatically the Stem I masculine singular active participle of consonantal verb root ''n-ṣ-r''). ...

that killed several of the country's most senior government leaders, including the

Vice-President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

Zubair Mohamed Salih Zubair Mohamed Salih (1944 – 12 February 1998) was a Sudanese soldier and politician. Salih was the deputy of Omar al-Bashir in the military government from 1989 to 1993 and then he continued as al-Bashir's Vice President. Salih died in the 19 ...

. On the morning of 12 February 1998, a Sudanese Air Force

Antonov An-32 The Antonov An-32 ( NATO reporting name: Cline) is a turboprop twin-engined military transport aircraft. Design and development The An-32 is essentially a re-engined An-26. It is designed to withstand adverse weather conditions better than the ...

turboprop attempted to land at Nasir Airport. The craft overshot the end of the runway and slid into the

Sobat River The Sobat River is a river of the Greater Upper Nile region in northeastern South Sudan, Africa. It is the most southerly of the great eastern tributaries of the White Nile, before the confluence with the Blue Nile. Geography The Sobat River is ...

. The Sudanese government announced that fog and strong winds had caused the crash. The SPLA's spokesman in Nairobi announced that the crash had not been an accident, but had been caused by an SPLA attack.

Casualties

Of the 57 crew and passengers on board, 26 drowned in the river. Among the dead were: *

Salih Salih (; ar, صَالِحٌ, Ṣāliḥ, lit=Pious), also spelled Saleh (), is an Arab prophet mentioned in the Quran who prophesied to the tribe of Thamud in ancient Arabia, before the lifetime of Muhammad. The story of Salih is linked to the ...

, the vice-president * Musa Sayed Ahmed, Director General of the Supreme Council for Peace *

Arok Thon Arok Arok Thon Arok (died 12 February 1998) was a politician from Southern Sudan. He was one of five senior commanders of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), before defecting. Early life Arok was a Dinka Bor from the Twic community of Kongo ...

, an ex-rebel turned government army officer * Timothy Tutlam, director of the Relief Association of Southern Sudan Information Minister Brigadier Mohamad Kheir and another minister survived.

Notes

References

{{Portal bar, Aviation Sudan Air Force crash Aviation accidents and incidents in Sudan Accidents and incidents involving the Antonov An-26 Sudan Air Force crash Sudan Air Force crash 1998 disasters in Sudan