CARGO PLANE BOUND FOR MOGADISHU CRASHES INTO NAIROBI ESTATE
(Posted 02nd July 2014)
Breaking news from Nairobi talk of a turboprop cargo plane, reportedly a converted Fokker 50, crashing after takeoff from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with a full load of Miraa on board, bound for the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Though feedback is still very sketchy it is confirmed that the plane hit what has been described as a commercial building in the area of Utawala shortly after 4 a.m.
(Picture courtesy of RT by Kenya Red Cross on Twitter / original tweet by @mamalito)
The plane according to first feedback had a crew of 4 on board and their fate is presently not known though they are presumed dead on impact. No information is presently available if there are any casualties in the affected building. Emergency services are on the way to the scene and air accident investigators have been alerted by air traffic controllers which lost contact with the plane as it went down.
In view of the short time it was not possible to establish the plane’s owner and operator but details are being sought and will be updated here in due course.
For breaking aviation news from East Africa, look no further than this space.
Update 1
The fire has according to the latest update been put out by emergency services which reached the scene not long after the alarm was sounded. The site has been cordoned off awaiting the arrival of forensic experts and air accident investigators from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority
Update 2:
The aircraft is now confirmed to belong to Skyward International Aviation based at Nairobi’s Wilson Airport. The airline according to information available was formed in 2010 and also operates a CRJ200 acquired from Jetlink last year and a Fokker 100. Skyward initially had 3 Fokker 50 on their fleet but crashed one of them in South Sudan’s Aweil in November 2012 (5Y-CAN, as reported here in breaking news) and now has only one such aircraft remaining. The aircraft which crashed this morning was registered with the KCAA as 5Y-CET with the manufacturer’s serial number MSN 20262. The aircraft according to information sourced was about 22 years old.
All four bodies of the crew on the stricken plane have been recovered according to the latest update received from Nairobi. At least two people on the ground were injured, one said to be in serious condition undergoing emergency treatment at a Nairobi hospital.
