South Sudan Supreme boss freed, to compensate crash victims

(© Tis Meyer / PlanePics.org)

South Sudan Supreme Airlines^[1] (Juba^[2]) manager Ayii Duang Ayii has been released after he was jailed for 21 days for having failed to compensate the families of a fatal crash of a Let 410^[3] turboprop on March 2, 2021, local radio reports.

The South Sudanese Supreme Court accepted Duang's proposal to use his fixed and mobile assets as compensation for the victims' relatives of the HK-4274 accident. The aircraft was en route to the capital, Juba, when it crashed^[4] shortly after take-off from an airstrip near the town of Pieri in Jonglei state, killing 10 people, including eight passengers and two pilots.

After a two-year trial, in February 2023, the Malakia High Court in Juba ruled that South Supreme Airlines must pay USD 800,000 (USD 170,000 per victim) to the victims' families, finding the airline guilty of negligence under Article 17 of the International Civil Aviation Organisation's (ICAO) Montreal Convention, reported by Radio Tamazuj.

When the airline failed to make the required payments, the court, upon the request of the complainants' legal counsel, ordered Duang's arrest and detention in Juba Main Prison on August 31, 2023.

Following his release, Duang revealed that the lower court had insisted on a cash payment, but on appeal, the Supreme Court had approved the use of his fixed and mobile assets as collateral for the compensation payment. He affirmed, "We respect the law, and we will implement the ruling."

Regarding the airline's stance, Duang explained, "South Sudan Supreme Airlines and its administration did not refuse to compensate the victims. We emphasised that the court should exercise patience in executing its orders. We expressed our desire to uncover the cause of the accident."

According to Duang, no passengers were supposed to have been on board the aircraft during its return journey to Juba. "The aircraft had transported cargo to Pieri, and on its return, it should have only had two crew members on board. We informed the court that we needed to first establish the cause of the plane crash through data retrieved from the black box. Let the black box reveal the cause of the accident," he said.

References

1. ^{^} South Sudan Supreme Airlines (www.ch-aviation.com)
2. ^{^} Juba (www.ch-aviation.com)
3. ^{^} Let 410 (www.ch-aviation.com)
4. ^{^} crashed (www.ch-aviation.com)