28 YEAR OLD FOKKER 50 AIRCRAFT CRASHES UPON TAKE OFF FROM NAIROBI’S WILSON AIRPORT
(Posted 11th October 2019)
(Picture by Charles Lee
@CharlesLivuza on Twitter)
An ageing Fokker 50, registered as 5Y-IZO, earlier this morning slid off the runway at Wilson Airport, Nairobi, while attempting to take off, ending up in the bush between the airport perimeter fence and one of the new bypass highways.
Luckily did the aircraft come to a rest before reaching the highway which at the time recorded heavy traffic in both directions.
Records seen for the aircraft, which first entered service in February 1992, show a manufacturer serial number as 20244, powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW125B engines.
According to information received from sources at Wilson Airport was the aircraft heading to Mombasa and Lamu.
While the number of passengers onboard remains unclear have several of them suffered what has been described as minor injuries.
Emergency services at Wilson Airport, including the Kenya Red Cross, responded immediately when the crash was observed.
Silverstone has meanwhile also published an initial statement which is shown above.
Before filing the article did a new picture become available, courtesy of Mercy Kamau, which shows the location of the crashed aircraft from above.
(Picture courtesy of Mercy Makau)
An air accident investigation is now going underway in Kenya to establish the cause for the accident.
