BENTIU – A charter flight crashed on Tuesday morning at Rupchier Boma, Guat Payam in Leer County of South Sudan’s Unity State at around 9 a.m., killing at least three people onboard.
Mr. Kueth Latjor, Executive Director and Acting Commissioner of Leer County, confirmed that the flight — which was carrying food items for flood victims — went down shortly after takeoff.
The aircraft, operated for the international humanitarian organization Samaritan’s Purse, had two crew members and one engineer on board, who are believed to have died on the spot.
Latjor explained that the flight, identified as Charter Flight 114, had been hired to transport food supplies from Juba to aid flood-affected communities in Leer County.
He described the incident as “very unfortunate,” noting that the crash site is located in a remote area reachable only on foot in about three hours. “I have sent teams of security forces, including the Payam Administrator, to the crash site. They will report back once they return,” Latjor said. Authorities are coordinating the response and investigating the circumstances of the crash.
South Sudan has a history of aviation accidents, often linked to ageing aircraft, overloading, limited safety infrastructure, and challenging weather conditions.
In recent years, several fatal crashes have occurred, including the 2015 Juba Antonov An-12 cargo plane crash that killed 37 people, a 2018 Let L-410 crash near Lake Yirol that claimed 20 lives, and a 2021 Let L-410 crash operated by South Sudan Supreme Airlines that killed all ten people on board.
In 2025, a Beechcraft 1900D chartered by an oil company crashed in Unity State, killing 20 of 21 passengers. Many of these incidents involved flights operating in remote or poorly equipped airstrips, often under difficult weather conditions, highlighting the persistent challenges in the country’s aviation sector.
Experts note that technical failures, pilot errors, and overloading remain major factors contributing to crashes in South Sudan.
The country’s civil aviation sector continues to face limitations in regulatory oversight, maintenance capacity, and safety infrastructure, making flights to rural areas particularly risky.
