Ten occupants of a Boeing 737-300, operating an Air Senegal service, have been injured after the jet suffered a runway excursion on take-off from Dakar’s main airport.
The aircraft – operated by Dakar-based Groupe Transair – had been conducting the HC301 service to Bamako, the capital of Mali.
Senegal’s ministry of infrastructure and transport states that the jet had 79 passengers and six crew members on board.
It says the aircraft halted its acceleration and “went off the runway” on 9 May, at about 01:14.
“Airport emergency services were deployed to the accident scene to evacuate passengers,” the ministry adds. “There were 10 injured, including a pilot.”
Images from the scene circulating on social media show the aircraft came to rest on rough ground, with substantial landing-gear, wing and engine damage.
Powered by CFM International CFM56 engines, the aircraft (6V-AJE) was originally delivered to Romanian flag-carrier Tarom in 1994.
“All arrangements have been made to care for the injured,” says the ministry, which has instructed the country’s investigation and analysis bureau to open a probe to determine the cause of the accident.
Dakar’s Blaise Diagne airport has a single runway, designated 01/19. Meteorological data from the facility indicates reduced visibility owing to mist, and a slight crosswind from the west, but no other adverse weather conditions.
Groupe Transair recently stated that it had hosted a delegation of ICAO flight-safety inspectors, on 19 April, as part of an audit of the Senegalese civil aviation regulator.
