Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority has begun its investigation Jubba Airways flight from Baidoa to Mogadishu that crashed at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu on Monday morning.
All 36 passengers – including flight crew – miraculously survived the twin engine Fokker-50 flight and were safely evacuated from plane, which caught fire shortly after the crash landing at 11:30 am.
A leading theory for the crash was that it was caused by a sudden change in wind speed and direction, known as Wind Shear, which can be dangerous for plans flying at low altitudes, especially during takeoff or landing. It is usually connected to rapid changes in specific weather conditions like an ocean breeze, jet streams and weather fronts.
In this incident, it appears that the pilot experienced downburst-driven wind shear on his tailwind, which immediately reduced the plane’s lift and airspeed.
One aviation expert who examined the video said that the plane may have stalled during landing with left wing hitting the ground first but more information would be available to investigators once the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) are analyzed.
Aviation accidents caused by wind shear used to be quite common, but most modern aircraft are equipped to detect dramatic changes in wind direction and speed. Wind shear detection systems are also installed in most major airports. There hasn’t been a commercial airline accident caused by wind shear in the US since 1994, when the Federal Aviation Administration made sweeping changes to address the weather phenomena.
