Boeing 727 African Adventure - Hard Landing in Mogadishu!

Trip Report: Flying a 46-Year-Old Boeing 727 in Africa

Sam Chui·March 19, 2022

Last week, I traveled on an Astral Aviation B727-200F flying from Nairobi, Kenya to Mogadishu, Somalia. It is one of only a few active B727s still flying!

The B727 freighter, registration 5Y-MWM, is 46-years-old but still going strong, operating frequent flights in harsh terrain from difficult airports.

Astral Cargo operates 2 B727, including a super 27 5Y-NIV behind me. — Astral Aviation operates two B727F, including a 'Super 27' (5Y-NIV) behind me.

Our aircraft carried 14 tons of food and general cargo, destined to supply the United Nations and other NGOs in Somalia.

a man in a safety vest standing in front of a plane

Astral also operate B767-200 Freighter, as well as B757 and DC-9-30F — Astral also operate the B767-200 Freighter, as well as B757 and DC-9-30F aircraft.

a group of men in a plane — The amazing three-man cockpit crew, flying one of the last active B727s in the world. Captain Rafael hails from Panama, Check Captain Oscar (center) and Flight Engineer Joachim (right) are from Bolivia.

Video

Nairobi to Mogadishu

Our flight departed from Nairobi's Runway 06 around 9:00 am local time. Flight time was 1 hour 30 minutes, cruising at 27,000 ft. Astral flys regularly into Mogadishu; operating at least twice a week.

It took some time to become airborne, owing to Nairobi's runway sitting 5300 feet above sea level. The high altitude reduced the aircraft's performance naturally. Watch the full video on the engine start and takeoff scenes. Listen to the JT-8D engines roaring!

a man and woman in a cockpit of an airplane

a group of men in the cockpit of an airplane

a group of pilots in the cockpit of an airplane

Flight engineer Joachim who has over 16,000 hours on the Boeing 727, explained what flight engineer do on the B727 — Flight engineer Joachim - who has over 16,000 hours on the Boeing 727 - explained what flight engineers do on the B727/

Captain Rafael conducted a special pre-landing briefing for Mogadishu, as the coastline of Somalia came into view. Aircraft must land from the sea in order to avoid rocket attacks.

aerial view of the ocean from an airplane

It was Captain Rafael's first time landing in Mogadishu, as he recently joined Astral and was operating a check flight under the supervision of Captain Oscar.

Video

Mogadishu, Somalia stop

Aden Abdulle Int’l Airport at Mogadishu was really busy this time, with a lot of regional and international flights in and out; it is the main aviation hub and the gateway to the rest of Somalia. We saw a lot of turboprops, such as Fokker 50 and Antonov 26s. A lot of passengers arrive from Nairobi, Djibouti, Addis Ababa, Dubai and Istanbul.

I was there once in 2014 flying African Express transiting Mogadishu from Dubai to Kenya.

a man in a yellow vest holding a camera in front of an airplane

A photo with Astral Cargo ground team in Mogadishu

We spent an hour offloading all the cargo pallets

The B727 has a simple toilet installed with curtain as divider. — The B727 has a simple toilet installed with a curtain as the divider.

Mogadishu to Nairobi

After all the cargo being offloaded, we return to Nairobi cruising at 28,000 ft. There was no cargo out of Somalia except empty crates.

a group of people in a cockpit of a plane

a group of people in a cockpit of an airplane

a couple of pilots in the cockpit of an airplane

What a great adventure to fly on the 46 year-old original Boeing 3 engine jet and a day in the life of a cargo pilot.

Captain Rafael made a butter landing in Nairobi (See it in the video). Here is a photo with the loadmaster, engineer, ground staff, security and pilot of Astral Aviation.