November 4: On This Day in World History … briefly
An unnamed source at the Russian aviation agency said that the An-12 appeared to have been overloaded.
2015: Cargo plane crash in South Sudan kills 37 people
On November 4, 2015, an Antonov An-12 cargo aircraft crashed near the White Nile shortly after takeoff from Juba International Airport serving Juba, the capital city of South Sudan. The official death toll stands at 37, including the crew of six. One adult passenger and a baby girl were the only survivors. The crash is the deadliest aviation accident to have occurred in South Sudan since independence in 2011.The aircraft was operating a cargo flight from Juba International Airport to Paloich Airport in the extreme northeastern South Sudan, an oil field. It departed Juba’s runway 13 but impacted a hill about 1 100 metres (3 600 ft) past the runway end and came to rest on the banks of the White Nile.
Authorities in South Sudan reported that the aircraft was overloaded, with most of the passengers being oil workers. The government spokesman of South Sudan said that there were at least 18 people on board. Early reports of the number killed varied, but the total now stands at 37, according to South Sudan’s Minister of Transportation, Kuong Danhier Gatluak. The crew of the plane comprised five Armenians and one Russian. There were initially three survivors, passenger Wuor Arop and an unrelated 13-month-old baby girl whom he had cradled, together with a third, reported to be a crew member, who later died in hospital. It is common for the security services to place family members on cargo planes to Paloich even if they are not on the manifest, according to Kenyi Galla, assistant operations manager for Combined Air Services, a company that operates chartered flights across South Sudan
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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