The aircraft was operating a cargo flight from Juba International Airport to Paloich Airport in the extreme northeastern South Sudan, an oil field. It departed Juba's runway 13 but impacted a hill about 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) past the runway end and came to rest on the banks of the White Nile.[4]
Authorities in South Sudan reported that the aircraft was overloaded, with most of the passengers being oil workers.[5] The government spokesman of South Sudan said that there were at least 18 people on board.[6] Early reports of the number killed varied, but the total now stands at 37, according to South Sudan's Minister of Transportation, Kuong Danhier Gatluak.[3][7] The crew of the plane comprised five Armenians and one Russian.[8] There were initially three survivors, passenger Wuor Arop and an unrelated 13-month-old baby girl whom he had cradled, together with a third, reported to be a crew member, who later died in hospital.[2][7] It is common for the security services to place family members on cargo planes to Paloich even if they are not on the manifest, according to Kenyi Galla, assistant operations manager for Combined Air Services, a company that operates chartered flights across South Sudan.[9][6]
