Safe Air Company – 5Y-IRE – Boeing 727-200F v1.0
Safe Air Company/Safe Air Cargo/SAC is a Nairobi based Kenyan operator of ad-hoc cargo, charter, and other services across East and Central Africa. Their fleet consists of a few 727s, primarily for operations into rough conditions where newer jets are harder to base into.
5Y-IRE was built in 1979, flying of Avianca and later DHL after conversion to a freighter. Like many 727s, it has changed hands multiple times and moved across multiple continents. In March 2024, 5Y-IRE was performing a flight from Juba to Malakal in South Sudan when during the landing mistakenly veered off runway, across the airfield, and into the wreckage of an MD-82 that had been damaged at the same field. Fortunately, all seven on board survived, though the aircraft is essentially a full write off.
