The families of victims of the ill-fated South Supreme Airlines plane crash of March 2, 2021, will be compensated, the company’s owner has said.
The plane HK-4274, crashed on Tuesday evening in Uror County of Jonglei State, killing two pilots and all eight passengers on board, according to government officials.
It landed safely at Pieri Payam and was taking off to head to Yuai town and then to Juba when the accident took place at 5 pm.
Following the fatal crash, South Sudanese president Salva Kiir directed the transport ministry and civil aviation authority to suspend operations of the airline until the cause of its plane crash is established.
This is the second such incident reported involving a plane operated by South Supreme Airlines. The first occurred in 2017 when one of its planes caught fire and made a crash landing in Wau, but there were no fatalities.
Ayii Duang Ayii, the owner of South Supreme Airlines, told journalists in Juba on Thursday that families of those who were killed in the plane crash will be offered compensation.
The businessman, however, did not say when the compensation will begin.
"South Supreme Airlines has comprehensive insurance recognized internationally. The insurance company will compensate the families of those who died in the plane crash and will also compensate the plane that crashed," Ayii said.
The renowned South Sudanese businessman revealed that the airline is registered in The Gambia, saying the airline is operating in South Sudan to offer services to citizens.
Ayii, who is also the chairperson of the South Sudan Employers’ Federation, accused some elements of taking false information to the president to suspend operations of his company.
"We will not pay the employees because of the suspension. The decision of the leadership came as a surprise to us, but we cannot oppose it," Ayii said.
The businessman regretted the fatal incident and said the black box of the aircraft has been recovered to help with investigations into the incident. "There is a need for thorough investigations so that we can know what led the crash. The black box of the plane will show us what happened exactly," Ayii concluded.