2012 Sudan Antonov An-26 crash

The aircraft had taken off from Khartoum International Airport at around 6:02 a.m. local time.[1] Approximately at 8 a.m.,[2] the plane crashed into the Hajar Al-Nar Mountain[3] of the Nuba Mountain range near Talodi, a small town about 600 km (370 mi) southwest of Khartoum.[4] A television statement said that the weather had prevented the aircraft from landing on its first attempt, and on its second attempt, the plane crashed into a mountain.[4] Talodi airfield features a single paved, unmarked runway of 1800 m (5900 ft) length.[5]

Although some early media reports mistakenly announced the crash as a helicopter crash,[6][7][8] the aircraft involved was a twin turboprop Antonov An-26-100, registration ST-ARL,[5][9] chartered by the Sudanese Government and operated by the Sudanese private air carrier Alfa Airlines (ICAO code AAJ).[2]

The aircraft was built in 1974 at the Ukrainian "Aviant" aircraft plant in the Soviet Union.[9] It flew on Soviet and Russian regional routes until July 1998.[9] It was sold to an Armenian air carrier, and then to Trans Attico, Air Libya, Ababeel Aviation, and other air companies in Africa.[9] It was acquired by Alfa Airlines in July 2009 and was modified from Antonov An-26 to Antonov An-26-100 standard at Kiev Aircraft Repair Plant 410 in Ukraine in 2010.[9]

There have been several deadly plane crashes in Sudan in recent years.[4] All Sudanese airlines, including Alfa Airlines, are banned for safety reasons from flying in European airspace.[10] The Sudanese authorities complain that it is difficult to get spare parts because of sanctions the United States has imposed against Khartoum.[4] This crash was the first accident in the history of Alfa Airlines, which was founded only in 2009.[11]

The chartered plane was carrying a Sudanese government delegation, from the capital of the country, Khartoum, to the town of Talodi in South Kordofan, a war-torn state with ongoing fighting between Sudan's army and rebel groups,[12] for an Eid al-Fitr celebration, to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.[4]

Among the victims were Guidance and Religious Endowments Minister Ghazi al-Sadiq Abdel Rahim, Justice Party chairman Makki Ali Balayil, State minister at the Youth and Sports Ministry Mahjub Abdel Rahim Tutu, State minister at the Ministry of Tourism, Antiquities and Wildlife Issa Daifallah and several high-ranking members of the security forces.[13][4]

The aircraft, with a crew of six, was flown by a senior Russian captain,[14] assisted by a Sudanese first officer, a 43-year-old navigator from Tajikistan and a 42-year-old Armenian flight engineer.[5][15]

An official with Sudan's Civil Aviation Authority said that bad weather was responsible for the crash.[6] The official news agency of Sudan, SUNA, also said the crash happened "due to the bad weather conditions".[3] Minister of Information Ahmed Bilal Osman also added that the plane was attempting to land in bad weather conditions in Talodi, as seasonal heavy rains left the pilots with "zero visibility,"[16] when it crashed into a mountain.[17]

Rebel spokesman Arnu Ngutulu Lodi denied that his rebel forces were involved with the crash, which happened outside of rebel territory.[18]

Two days after the crash, on 21 August, Sudan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) chief Mohammad Abdul-Aziz tendered his resignation to the President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir.[19] However, President Bashir rejected his resignation, urging the chief to continue a newly approved program of reforms to the development and supervision of the CAA.[20]

On 24 August, the local government reported the flight recorders have been found and recovered from the crash site.[5]