2020 African Express Airways Embraer EMB 120 crash
Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia · Allegedly shot down by Ethiopian National Defense Force
From Baidoa Airport (BIB) to Berdale Airfield, Berdale, Somalia
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 6 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 6
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Airline
Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia
- Aircraft type
- Embraer EMB-120
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- 5Y-AXO
- Operator
- African Express Airways
- Onboard fatalities
- 6
- Route
- From Baidoa Airport (BIB)To Berdale Airfield, Berdale, Somalia
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
The 2020 African Express Airways Embraer EMB 120 crash was an aviation accident involving an African Express Airways Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia that was on approach to Berdale on a chartered cargo flight from Baidoa Airport, Somalia on 4 May 2020 when it was allegedly shot down by ground troops of the Ethiopian National Defense Force. All 6 occupants, four non-revenue passengers and two crew, were killed. The plane was carrying medical supplies to assist with the COVID-19 pandemic in Somalia, as well as mosquito nets.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
A joint accident investigation by officials from Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya is underway, with preliminary findings expected in 45 days.
A preliminary report was presented by AMISOM on May 9, 2020, on which stated that Ethiopian troops in Berdale had admitted to having shot down the airplane by mistake. The troops at Berdale Airfield were not aware of the arrival of the airplane and they deemed the unusual flight path of the low-flying aircraft to be a potential suicide mission searching for a target to attack and therefore shot down the aircraft.
In addition to investigating the crash itself, Somali leaders questioned why Ethiopian troops outside the authority of the peacekeeping force were conducting armed operations in Somalia; there has been a history of controversial unauthorized incursions into Somalia by Ethiopian and Kenyan troops pursuing Al-Shabaab militants.
As of 2025, no official/final report has been released.
Text from the Wikipedia article “2020 African Express Airways Embraer EMB 120 crash” (revision 1339309342, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 2020 African Express Airways Embraer EMB 120 crash
- Revision
- 1339309342 · 2026-02-19 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q96370225
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "2020 African Express Airways Embraer EMB 120 crash" (page 63908119, revision 1339309342)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator named as an airline in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.