A light aircraft operated by Amref Flying Doctors crashed in Nairobi, Kenya, killing everyone on board. On Thursday afternoon, the Cessna jet left Wilson Airport and headed for Hargeisa, Somalia. It crashed into a residential area in Nairobi’s Githurai suburb shortly after takeoff and caught fire. The pilot, doctors, and nurses all died, as did two persons on the ground. There are ongoing investigations to find out what caused the crash.
Who Were the Victims?
Four of the six people who died were on the plane, including the pilot, doctors, and nurses. Two people on the ground also died, and two more were hurt badly. The disaster happened barely a few minutes after the plane lost radio and radar contact with air traffic control.
Henry Wafula, the Kiambu County Commissioner, confirmed the circumstances of the event and said that emergency personnel had been sent to the scene to help the injured and recover the deceased. Here is the link to our article on Crash Boeing Future.
What Made the Crash Happen?
There are investigators at the collision site to find out what happened. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority says that three minutes after takeoff, the plane lost touch with air traffic control by both radio and radar. Amref Flying Doctors, the charity that ran the plane, is working closely with the aviation authorities and rescue responders to find out what happened.
Stephen Gitau, the CEO of Amref, said, “Right now, we are fully cooperating with the appropriate aviation authorities and emergency response teams to find out what happened.”
What Did People Who Saw It Say?
People who saw the crash talked about how horrible it was right after it happened. Patricia Kombo, who was driving near Githurai, said she heard a huge blast and saw a red flash and then smoke. She claimed, “The flash was gone and the smoke was rising before I could get my phone out to record.” “We heard people screaming and running after that, so we cut our trip short.”
Kombo talked about how the accident created a hole in the ground that was very deep, which was a clear sign of how bad the crash was. Here is the link to our article on Air Crash Investigation.
What else is going on in Kenya?
At a railroad crossing near Naivasha, in central Kenya, a train hit a bus and killed at least four people. The Kenya Pipeline Company ran the bus, which was carrying workers who had just finished their morning shift at a training center. Emergency teams have been working to get the hurt people to hospitals close by.
What will the investigation find?
The Kenya plane crash in Nairobi is a tragedy, and both the aviation authorities and the Amref charity are looking into what happened. The deaths of doctors and other medical staff have hurt the community. As the investigations go on, the cause of the crash may give important information about how to make flying safer and how to make operations better. In the next several days, it will be very important to figure out how this happened and what steps may be taken to stop it from happening again.
