By William Madouk
Juba high court has passed verdict for South Supreme Airline to pay $350,000 as compensation for two pilots who died in plane crash in Pieri, three years ago.
Presiding over the court, on Tuesday, Justice Barnaba Nykang ruled that Ayii’s airline company must pay to families of the two pilots a sum of $175,000 each.
“South Supreme Airline shall pay $175,000 to Captain Majur, South Sudanese, and 175,000 to Captain Philip, a Kenyan national as compensation,” Justice Barnaba read the ruling.
In addition, South Supreme Airline is also ordered to pay late Philip’s family sum of KSH 649, 379.68 and SSP 4,062,000 plus $1,000 as a cost of conducting funeral events for the two pilots.
According to the verdict, Ayii’s airliner will also pay $80,000 to victims’ families as the welfare losses.
In March 2021, aircraft number HK 4274 belonging to South Supreme Airline crashed shortly after takeoff from an airstrip in Pieri town in Jonglei state. At least 10 people on board, including two crew members and eight passengers died.
Last year, Malakia high court also ordered South Supreme Airline to pay $1,360,000 or equivalent in South Sudanese pounds to the families of the eight victims who perished in the Pieri crash, each to be paid $170,000.
But embattling businessman, Ayii Duang Ayii after being released from prison, said he was ready to pay compensation for the victims of Pieri plane crash, but after the black box is brought to establish what causes the ill-fated incident.
Mr. Ayii, disagreed with the ruling citing that the court has gone against international aviation and domestic law norms of paying compensation. He alleged that pilots’ reparation globally is about $53,000 to $33,000.
He added that he was supposed to pay the victims of the ill-fated plane crash, an equivalent to fifty-one (51) cows like in Upper Nile or thirty-one (31) as in Bahr el Ghazal region as local law stipulates.