Air Transport

The US National Transportation Safety Board is reporting that “power loss in both engines” preceded the crash of a chartered Beech 1900C that crashed on Friday, killing both pilots and all 18 passengers on board, including Sudan defence minister Dominic Dim Deng. 

The aircraft, which NTSB says was operated by Flex Air of Nairobi, Kenya, was enroute from Wau, in southern Sudan, to Juba, also in that country.

The crew had planned an intermediate stop in Rumbek, which is located near the crash site, says the NTSB.
Officials in Sudan told news services that the pilot had asked permission to make a crash landing in Rumbek after reporting engine trouble.

The NTSB reports that the twin-engine turboprop was destroyed and that there had been a fire. A technical advisor from the US has been assigned to assist local officials with their investigation.