FOKKER 50 CARGO AIRCRAFT SUFFERS SERIOUS DAMAGE UPON FORCED RETURN TO MOGADISHU
(Posted 19th September 2020)
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A Kenyan registered Fokker 50 cargo aircraft, previously operated by Silverstone Air Services – suspended by the Kenya CAA in November last year – encountered technical problems after take off from Mogadishu and the crew opted to return to the airport. The flight was bound for Beledweyne in Somalia.
Upon landing did the aircraft veer off the runway and hit a perimeter wall, trapping the pilots inside the aircraft. Ground personnel and equipment were used to free the two pilots who were subsequently rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment of their injuries.
The aircraft, carrying the registration 5Y-MHT, MSN 20171, has been in service for nearly 31 years at the time of the accident.
It could not be established by the time of posting this article who is the present owner and / or operator of the aircraft, following the suspension of services of Silverstone Air Services by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority last year.
The condition of two additional personnel on board at the time of the accident could not be ascertained either.
Additional information has come to light since the posting of the initial part of the article. It was established that it was indeed Silverstone Air Services which operated the service for and on behalf of a company called ‘SAACID Airlines’ and part of the ongoing air accident investigation is also focusing on the relationship of the two companies while as well looking into the airworthiness status of the aircraft, the mandatory crew training in the period before the accident and the licensing status of Silverstone at the time of the accident. It is understood that Kenyan authorities are cooperating with their Somali counterparts in the air accident investigation.
(Update posted 21st September 2020)
