Narrow escape for crew of UNWFP Fokker 27

AGED FOKKER 27 LOSES WING ON LANDING

(Posted 04th June 2017)

(Picture courtesy of VOA Somalia / Sonna)

The UN’s World Food Programme’s Fokker 27 crew of four had a very lucky escape when on landing part of the gear struck a perimeter wall, causing the right landing gear to be damaged before hitting the runway and tearing off much of the right wing. After striking the wall it then veered off the runway when part of the wing came off. It then caught fire which was however extinguished before spreading through the wreckage.
All four crew on board were pulled from the wreck and taken to hospital but released later in the day.
The aircraft, reportedly a Kenyan registered plane 5Y-FMM operated by Aero Pioneer Group, was enroute from Dolow to Garbaharey with a cargo of food items. The food was to be delivered to an area supported by the World Food Programme with over 2.300 starving young children in need of daily rations.
Fokker 27 aircraft are now considered as very aged aircraft with maintenance being costly and difficult and questions are asked why UN organizations are still using such planes for their operations with the only answer possible being the cheap charter fares yet, as seen here, with inherent risks.

Kenya’s Fly 540 Aviation too suffered a Fokker 27 crash on a flight into Somalia in August 2008, when unlike in the current incident however three crew died on impact.