All 14 people on board a small passenger plane died after it crashed 20 kilometers southwest of Juba on Monday, the South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority (SSCAA) confirmed.
The Cessna 208 Caravan, operated by CityLink Aviation, was leaving Yei for the capital when it suddenly lost contact with air traffic control less than half an hour after takeoff.
According to aviation officials, the plane took off at 09:15 local time and disappeared from the radar around 09:43. Inside the plane there were 13 passengers and one pilot. The victims include two Kenyan citizens and 12 South Sudanese citizens.
“Unfortunately, there were no victims,” The SSCAA reported.
Preliminary findings indicate that bad weather may have played a significant role in the crash, with poor visibility being cited as a possible factor. A response team has been dispatched to the crash site to investigate the situation and assist in recovery efforts.
South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in 2011 but has remained volatile since the end of a five-year civil war that broke out in 2013 due to a conflict between President Salva Kiir Mayardit and First Vice President Riek Machar who is currently under arrest.
South Sudan has been suffering from political instability and armed conflict since it gained its independence in 2011. The civil war that lasted for five years broke out in 2013 due to the conflict between President Salva Kiir Mayardit and the former First Vice President Riek Machar, which resulted from the struggle for power within the ruling party of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM3) and that party was still found in Sudan8. A 2018 peace accord officially ended the civil war, but fighting continues across the country, driven by local militias and conflicts over resources.
The situation has been further complicated by political upheavals, including Machar’s arrest in March 2025. Machar’s party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), has warned that his detention effectively nullifies the 2018 peace agreement. Machar has been accused of supporting the White Army, a militia that includes mostly Nuer fighters, who have reportedly been involved in fighting in Upper Nile state.
Ongoing insecurity has displaced hundreds of thousands, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), by the end of 2025, South Sudan had more than 2.7 million internally displaced persons, and more than 9 million people in total need humanitarian assistance.
The country has faced air security challenges in the past. In January 2025, a Beechcraft 1900D plane carrying oil crews crashed shortly after takeoff in Unity State en route to Juba, killing 20 of the 21 people on board.
In November, a cargo plane carrying humanitarian aid for Samaritan’s Purse also crashed in Unity State, about 20 kilometers from Leer Airstrip near the Sudanese border. Operated by Nari Air, the plane had left Juba with about two tons of supplies for the communities affected by the severe floods.
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