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How family escaped death after aircraft crash-landed near airport


A family escaped death narrowly when their private aircraft crashed at the Uhuru Gardens as it was about to land at Wilson Airport.

The pilot, Captain Simon Herd, was flying with his family from Kijipwa in Kilifi County when it crash-landed.

Nairobi County commander Japheth Koome said the pilot, an Australian, was with his wife and two daughters but all escaped unhurt in the 4.40pm incident.

“The aircraft did not catch fire after crashing and none of the passengers sustained injuries,” he said.

ABOUT TO LAND

The Cessna 182, registration number 5Y-BME, was about to land at Wilson Airport when it crashed at the Uhuru Gardens.

The ill-fated aircraft was manufactured by the Cessna Aircraft Company and has a maximum weight of 1,818kg.

Investigators from the Ministry of Transport’s Air Accident Investigation Department (AAID) visited the scene and launched investigations into the cause of the crash.

The findings are to be shared with the aviation regulator Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), air operators and the general public.

There have been similar accidents in the country, but records show that investigations into most of the air crashes involving Kenyan-registered aircraft within or outside the country had not been launched.

The wreckage of most of the planes is still at the scenes, with the vital components needed for investigations lying uncollected.

In July 2013, for example, an crash on on the Aberdare ranges killed the famous aviator Mr Harro Trempenou and three other passengers. The wreckage is still at the accident site since a risk assessment done showed that slinging it to Nairobi would be dangerous.