A devastating aviation disaster has killed every person onboard a small passenger aircraft that crashed in South Sudan early Monday, according to official confirmation from the country’s Civil Aviation Authority (SSCAA). The CityLink Aviation-operated flight, a Cessna 208 Caravan, had departed the city of Yei at 9:15 a.m. local time bound for Juba, a roughly 130-kilometer route southwest of the capital. Roughly 30 minutes into the journey, authorities lost all contact with the aircraft, which ultimately crashed approximately 20 kilometers outside Juba.
Preliminary investigations point to severe weather as the most likely cause of the crash. In an official statement, the SSCAA noted that initial reports link the crash to poor atmospheric conditions, specifically extremely low visibility that hindered the pilot’s navigation. A specialized investigation team has already been deployed to the remote crash site to collect evidence and confirm the root cause of the incident.
Official passenger and crew breakdowns confirm the flight carried 14 people total: one pilot and 13 passengers. Among those killed were 12 citizens of South Sudan and two Kenyan nationals. No survivors have been recovered from the crash site.
The crash renews longstanding concerns about aviation safety in South Sudan, where air travel infrastructure remains chronically underdeveloped, and the country has a well-documented poor aviation safety record. Air accidents are relatively frequent across the nation, with most incidents commonly attributed to two key risk factors: overloaded aircraft and unpredictable, severe weather conditions. This is not the first deadly air disaster to hit the country in recent years: in January 2025, a plane carrying 20 oil workers crashed just three minutes after takeoff near Unity State’s northern oil fields, killing everyone onboard.