AIRCRAFT ENDS UPSIDE DOWN OFF THE RUNWAY AS TRAINEE PILOT FAILS TO TAKE OFF
(Posted 25th November 2019)
It was scares only for the trainee pilot in a Cessna 152 aircraft, registered in Kenya as 5X-BZK, MSN 1528343 when his solo flight ended in a massive failure.
His attempt to take off ended up on the side of the airstrip, upside down on the grass, damaging the aircraft and no doubt denting the pilot’s chances to graduate anytime soon and get a private pilot licence.
An air accident investigation is underway to establish the cause of the accident.
This latest mishap will put further pressure on the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority to exercise stricter oversight and enforce regulations – though not shoot from the hip as a recent announcement that aircraft over 7 tons would have to leave Wilson Airport and operated out of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
ATCNews had reported about that and given the reaction of air operators in response to the KCAA notice, which has yet to be enforced.
Two incidents by Silverstone Air caught KCAA almost by surprise and only a massive public outcry then prompted a reaction, after first a Fokker 50 overshoot the Wilson Airport runway and ended up in the bush – thankfully just a few dozen metres away from a busy highway – while a Dash 8 not long afterwards had lost a wheel after take off.
