Dubai: The cargo plane that crashed in the desert shortly after takeoff near Sharjah International Airport on Wednesday afternoon was owned by Sudan’s Azza Air Transport Company, according to Sharjah civil aviation officials.
According to Azza Air Deputy Manager Ahmad Aasim, the aircraft had been leased by Sudan Airways.
Headquartered in Khartoum, Azza Air was set up in 1993 and operates cargo charter services in Africa and the Middle East. Its main base is the Khartoum International Airport.
The company had an Antonov An-12 and an Antonov An-26 as part of its fleet in addition to two Boeing 707-320C and two Ilyushin II-76TD in cargo configuration prior to the crash, according to aviation websites.
One of the 707s crashed on Wednesday, while the other stands derelict at the military platform of Khartoum airport. The company is owned by Omdurman National Bank, Shaikan Insurances and Sheikan Insurance.
Azza Air is a civil aviation company that also leases aircraft to the Sudanese government for carrying defence equipment, according to airliners.net.
In 2007, the US government slapped financial sanctions on several Sudanese companies, including Azza Air, and claimed it was "transferring small arms, ammunition and artillery to Sudanese government forces and Janjaweed militia in Darfur".
According to aviation experts, the Sudanese air fleet is outdated, and the government says spare parts are not available for the country's US-made aircraft due to economic sanctions imposed by Washington.
The United States, which has placed Khartoum on a blacklist of countries supporting terrorism, says the sanctions do not prevent the delivery of spare parts for aircraft if they are requested.
