Samaritan’s Purse Plane Hijacked in South Sudan

Suspect pulled gun on pilot demanding to be taken to Chad.

A small single-propeller airplane belonging to Samaritan’s Purse,was hijacked by an armed man Tuesday (Dec. 2) in South Sudan.

Photo courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse

The plane, a Cessna Grand Caravan, was departing from Juba, South Sudan’s capital to transport medical supplies to the northeast portion of South Sudan where Samaritan’s Purse is working to provide medical assistance to people in that region.

Shortly after takeoff the gunman threatened the pilot and demanded he fly the plane to Chad. After circling for several hours, the pilot told the hijacker the plane needed to land and refuel. After landing, the gunman was taken into custody.

According to a statement from Samaritan’s Purse, the pilot landed the plane in the northern portion of South Sudan. “The Caravan aircraft was en route to Maiwut, South Sudan, to deliver medicines to be used by our mobile medical unit based there. The pilot was eventually able to land the plane in Wau, South Sudan, where the armed hijacker was taken into custody by the National Security Service of South Sudan.”

Police identified the hijacker as Yasir Mohammed Yusuf, and said he had snuck on board the plane and hid until after takeoff. Also onboard was the pilot and a Samaritan’s Purse staff member.

“We praise God that no one was seriously injured,” Samaritan’s Purse said in its statement. “We are grateful to the security forces for their support and swift action on the ground to resolve the situation and bring a safe outcome.”

A spokesman for the police in Wau told the Associated Press the hijacker was wearing a reflective vest with the logo of an air charter company that operates out of Juba International Airport. However, the charter company has no record of an employee by Yusuf’s name.

Police are investigating the incident. So far, there is no known motive for why Yusuf hijacked the plane or demanded to land in Chad.

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