The 2025 Colombian mercenary plane crash
Posted by VladimirsGs@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 21 comments
You might remember the downing of a plane in August of this year with Colombian mercenaries on board; I did some research on it and this is what I found.
Various sources report that on the evening of August 6, 2025, a plane was intercepted by Sudanese fighter jets while landing at Nyala Airport. Over 40 Colombian mercenaries were allegedly killed. Sudanese sources state that 69 people were on board, including 5 crew members and 64 passengers, 61 of whom were mercenaries who all died. The aircraft was allegedly operated on behalf of the UAE.. The aircraft was described as being of American origin and identified by some sources as a C-130. Videos show a Lockheed L-100-30 at Nyala Airport; according to a Reddit user, the aircraft was identified as an L-100 belonging to TransAfrik International. An aircraft similar to the one shown in the video is 5X-TUB, which was recently sighted at Fujairah International Airport in the UAE. Satellite images from the time of the accident are unavailable due to heavy cloud cover.
If you have any further information or questions, please feel free to ask in the comments.
8erren@reddit
I cannot tell what happened to this aircraft from the links
Al Jazeera says it was destroyed, as it was landing, and a source says it was "bombed and completely destroyed"
The article also says the airport has come under attack from the Sudanese Army.
Was this aircraft hit with a SAM? Was it artillery that happened to hit the aircraft? Or was it something else?
VladimirsGs@reddit (OP)
From what I've heard, the plane was shot down by fighter jets on approach, or a bomb was dropped on it shortly after touchdown. But it sounds like it was attacked from the air, not from the ground.
8erren@reddit
Thanks I wondered that but the article talked about strikes by the army so I had understood it was not from the air. Makes more sense to be honest.
Amazing there is no definitive answer to this question. How can it be possible to destroy an aircraft with 64 people on board and nobody says how it happened?
VladimirsGs@reddit (OP)
Do you remember the incident with the 737-200 in Nyala in May that killed 90 people? Most sources claimed the plane was shot down, but satellite images showed it was bombed. However, it remains unclear whether it was with artillery or drones; fighter jets were apparently not involved. It's possible that information about the operation is being withheld to prevent the other side from initiating preventative measures.
VladimirsGs@reddit (OP)
I hope this helps you. Unfortunately, things like this are difficult to verify.
AdultContemporaneous@reddit
Scrolled to picture 3. Man, that was airworthy?
VladimirsGs@reddit (OP)
Yes, a bit of duct tape and WD-40, and the thing works again.
These are aircraft used in war zones. It's relatively likely they'll be destroyed one way or another, so it's not worth using highly advanced aircraft, and they use planes that aren't a loss if they get destroyed. The only modern aircraft used in Nyala is the Airbus C-295.
Texas_Kimchi@reddit
What boneyard did they dig that thing out of?
VladimirsGs@reddit (OP)
Africa is a flying aircraft graveyard with planes like the DC-9, 727 or Fokker 100 still in the air, but L-100s are still widespread, for example in the US operated by Lynden Air Cargo.
Boeing367-80@reddit
What separates the L100 from the others is there's no civilian replacement that's non Soviet.
But it is for sure long in the tooth.
The web claims they share the same pool with the c130s, which if true, means L100s likely have a very deep spares source.
(Just bc a civilian and military design are the same/similar does not mean military spares are approved for the civil design, even if it fits perfectly and is completely functional it may not be legal. For sure, in the past, the FAA have refused to allow C130s to be operated by US carriers.)
747ER@reddit
Ngl as an Australian, hearing someone describe a Fokker 100 as a “flying graveyard” is a bit depressing. It’s 2-3 decades more modern than the other three aircraft you mentioned and they still have plenty of life left in them.
Boeing367-80@reddit
Even the youngest Fokker 100s are almost 30 years old and haven't had a manufacturer behind them for decades. So hardly "plenty of life". And even throwing in the Fokker 70, less than 350 built. Maintaining them these days must be challenging to say the least.
Kiwigavin@reddit
He’s not describing the aircraft as flying graveyards. He’s saying Africa is a graveyard for aircraft that are still flying. Ie,are old.
747ER@reddit
The point of my comment is that the F100 doesn’t quite deserve to be on this list yet :)
VladimirsGs@reddit (OP)
Australia and PNG are among the few "Western" countries that still operate these aircraft on a large scale, that's true. However, the glory days of the Fokker 70/100 are sadly long gone, perhaps even too early, because you're right, they are definitely still airworthy and not a flying graveyard.
sofixa11@reddit
Nairobi airport is quite interesting in that regard because it's a base for many things, and has some sort of maintenance/graveyard facility.
727s, Fokkers (both props and jets), 737 Classics, lots of UN branded ATRs and DHC-8s. I'm also pretty sure I saw an An-24 family plane in the graveyard, but it might have been a Fokker.
Also, lots of American military cargo planes, including PZL M28, C-130s.
VladimirsGs@reddit (OP)
Isn’t PZL polish?
sofixa11@reddit
American as "American military owned". Yep, PZL is a Polish company, and the M28 (An-28 originally) is a fairly popular plane for stuff like paratroopers and skydiving.
VladimirsGs@reddit (OP)
Ah, okay thanks
VladimirsGs@reddit (OP)
Some Sources
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/534907
https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2025/8/7/sudan-says-army-destroyed-uae-aircraft-killing-40-colombian-mercenaries
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10770374
https://www.facebook.com/share/1A3TfPozK7/?mibextid=wwXIfr
https://www.facebook.com/100044816288292/posts/1296183605218837/?mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=YV3DeSt7o5vN9w0p#
airport-codes@reddit
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