Nairobi City District

The aircraft, registered 5Y-NJS operated by Westwind Aviation Ltd crashed at Ngong Racecourse. The flight with two onboard was on a private mission to Kisumu, Eldoret and back to Nairobi. The aircraft departed Wilson Airport (HKNW) at 0420Z and landed at Kisumu Airport (HKKI) at 0502Z. It then departed HKKI to HKEL at 1142Z and landed at 1200Z where it picked one passenger. The flight then departed HKEL to HKNW with three onboard at 1247Z with an estimated flight time of 40 minutes. According to the preliminary information obtained from the Captain, the aircraft attained flight level 250 42NM from Eldoret VOR. The flight was then cleared to fly direct to GV VOR by Nairobi Area Control Centre. During descend to flight level 100 they encountered bad weather whereby the wings developed heavy icing. The Captain deployed deicing systems on the wings but the problem persisted. The situation prompted the Captain to request Wilson Control to descend to “Monstry fix” for landing at HKNW which was approved. As the flight continued descending the left engine went off. The Captain requested Wilson Tower for assistance. After 30 seconds, the right engine also went off. The Captain elected to make an emergency landing at Ngong Racecourse. On landing along, the left wing collided with trees and broke-off and separated together with the left engine and the left main landing gear. The turned clockwise through 180° and faced the opposite direction. All three onboard escaped unhurt but the aircraft was destroyed.

On October 11, 2019 at about 0902 Kenya daylight time, a Silverstone Air Services Fokker 27 Mark 050 registration 5Y-IZO experienced runway excursion on takeoff runway 14 at Wilson Airport with 55 occupants onboard (5 crew and 50 passengers). The aircraft was performing a scheduled flight from Wilson airport to Mombasa, Lamu and back to Wilson airport. The aircraft was fueled then the passengers boarded the plane before the normal pre take off procedures which were reported as uneventful as collaborated by the information from the FDR. The Right Hand engine receded the Left Hand engine in startup as depicted by the parameters from the recorders. From engine startup, taxi, lineup runway 14, power up and including the initial stages of ground roll were uneventful. At 06.02.50 GMT, while still on ground roll take off, the LH engine ITT began to fluctuate, dropped from 707.8 to 175.8. The RH ITT remained stable. The other parameters of both engines were stable. Subsequent power down ensued at 06.03.01, IAS dropped from 110.2Knots and the aircraft magnetic heading increased gradually to 144 consistent with the deviation of the aircraft to the right of the runway axis when it left the paved surface of the runway, before colliding with the airport perimeter fence, went through an embankment before coming to rest tilted to the right after the starboard wing made contact with a tree. The passengers were deplaned through the two left hand side front and rear exit doors. Immediately the event occurred, ATS Wilson airport issued a crash alert and Wilson Airport Fire Service (AFS) responded without delay, found the passengers already evacuated from the aircraft and applied foam to the sections of the aircraft with leaking fuel. Runway 14/32 was closed and all inbound and departure traffic made use of the remaining runway. Preliminary information retrieved from the Flight Data Recorder Radar regarding the engine ITT seems to correlate with the flight crew statements regarding the observed fluctuations on the LHS engine ITT.

On 4 January 2015, about 0840 local time, a Fokker 27-50 a cargo flight, registration 5Y-SIB, operated by Skyward Express Ltd, experienced a gear-up landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (HKJK). The flight had diverted to HKJK due to a mechanical malfunction of the landing gear. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and the airplane was on an IFR flight plan. None of the ten persons on board were injured. The airplane was substantially damaged and there was no fire. The flight originated at Wajir (HKWJ) and the original destination was Nairobi-Wilson Airport (HKNW). During the departure from HKWJ, the flight sustained a bird-strike. After taking steps to confirm any aircraft system malfunction the aircraft systems were still operable and the flight crew elected to continue the flight. The flight en route was without any incident. While in the traffic pattern at Wilson, the landing gear was activated to extend and it resulted in an unsafe indication for the left main gear. During the period of about an hour while circling overhead the airport, the flight crew attempted to resolve the anomaly but they were unsuccessful. It prompted the crew to declare an emergency after they had confirmed that the left main landing gear was locked up in the air position and was not lowering. After declaring an emergency, the crew carried out an extensive consultation with the air traffic services and the company ground personnel and elected to divert the flight to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (HKJK). The crew made a successful gear-up landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (HKJK) runway 06 with no injury to those onboard the flight however the aircraft sustained substantial damage. The aircraft got disabled after landing and blocked both runways for more than four hours as the airport authorities struggled to remove it to pave way for other operations. According to the report obtained from post-accident interview with the flight crew at 0540 the aircraft took-off at Wajir (HKWJ) on runway 15 and immediately after take-off on passing 200ft at a speed of Vref +10 Knots the crew noticed a flock of birds and tried to evade them. While increasing the aircraft rate of climb they felt like a thud (hitting something). After clearing the flock they inspected the instruments and confirmed all aircraft systems were functioning satisfactorily. They then proceeded with their flight as intended. According to the air traffic control (ATC) transcript obtained from Wilson control tower upon entering Wilson aerodrome traffic circuit at 0641:41 the crew requested ATC to join downwind runway 07 and was immediately cleared. After five minutes (0646:50) the crew requested ATC to extend downwind and at 0648:03 the crew confirms to the ATC that they are checking the undercarriage. At 0654:08 the crew confirms to the ATC that they have an emergency on the left main landing gear and they have checked it is locked up in the air position. The crew requested for more time to trouble-shoot the problem and requested ATC to brief their company about the problem. At 0731:07 the crew confirmed to HKNW air traffic service unit that they are ready to do gear-up landing and they would prefer HKJK instead of HKNW. They are then cleared for HKJK to join left base runway 06. 30 seconds later the crew changes their intention to go to HKJK and confirms to HKNW ATC that they would do a gear-up landing at HKNW and requests for more time. At 0749:31 the crew consults with their company through HKNW ATC and agrees to carry out the gear-up landing at HKJK and the flight was cleared to proceed to HKJK. At 0802 the crew made a successful gear-up landing on runway 06 at HKJK.

On 2 July 2014, about 01.14 UTC, 5Y-CET, a Fokker F50, an international cargo flight, operated by Skyward International, crashed shortly after takeoff from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Nairobi, Kenya (JKIA). Instrument Meteorological Conditions prevailed at the time and the airplane was on an instrument flight plan. The four crewmembers were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed and consumed by post-crash fire. The destination of the flight was Aden Adee International Airport, Mogadishu, Somalia. The airplane was repositioned from its home base at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, the day before. The accident captain (CAPT) and another first officer conducted the repositioning flight. (see Aircraft Information). At JKIA, the airplane was loaded with cargo in preparation for the accident flight. The accident crew consisted of the Capt and FO in addition to a maintenance engineer and loadmaster. According to air traffic control (ATC), the flight plan was filed for duration of 2.5 hours at an altitude of 19,000 feet along with 5 hours of fuel aboard. Based on flight recorder data, the Capt was the pilot-flying and the FO was the pilot-monitoring. The accident flight was reconstructed using data from air traffic control and flight recorder information. According to FDR data, engine start occurred at at 01.50.20. At about 01.10.59 the flight made initial contact with JKIA air traffic control tower and after routine communication, including the confirmation of the number of person and fuel endurance, the flight was cleared for takeoff at 0112.30. At 01.11.58, both engines accelerated to a high power setting with engine no. 1 stabilizing at 78% torque, 100% propeller speed and engine 2 stabilizing at 80% torque, 99% propeller speed. About six seconds later, the Capt indicates “power is set”. About 2 seconds afterwards the Capt indicated “the auto-feather is off, left” and then 5 seconds later, the FO calls out “seven eighty” (?). About 16 seconds after initial engine acceleration was applied, the first of a series of three chimes audio alerts occurred, and continued at 1 second interval throughout the CVR recording. Immediately after the initial chimes, the Capt said “you see” and “how much is that?”. The FO responded “okay niner”. The Capt then asked “it has gotten to?” The FO replied “thirty four thirty ninety two” and shortly afterward “the left one is thirty”. About 24 seconds after initial engine acceleration, engine 1 torque climbs over a period of 2 seconds to a recorded value of 119.9%, the maximum value the recorder is capable of recording. Simultaneously Engine 1 propeller speed falls from 100% to 57%. Other engine shaft speeds remain at approximately their original high power values. Airspeed at the point this change occurs was less than 30 knots. During this period, the FO called out “one twenty two now [pause] torque”. The Capt responded “it is rising eh? The FO then noted “torque one twenty six now”. About 31 seconds after initial engine acceleration, the FO called out “okay speed alive sixty”. About a second later the Capt asked “do we reduce or”? The FO responded “we can just cut”. The Capt inquired “do we abort or continue?” The FO responded, “okay one one twelve and nine four point three” and then “okay one sixteen [pause] ninety four.” The Capt acknowledged “yeah okay” About 47 seconds after initial engine acceleration, the Capt said twice “did I reduce it?”and the FO responded sequentially “yeah” and “okay”] About 52 seconds after initial engine acceleration, the Capt asked “how is it now?” and the FO replied “yeah one oh two [pause] ninety four”. About 7 seconds later the FO called out “okay, one sixteen ninety four”. About 1 minute after initial engine acceleration, the Capt inquired “Is it really going?” The FO replied “one oh one, ninety five”. The Capt acknowledged and shortly afterward he queried “is it going really, is the aircraft really moving”. The FO responded “okay, one oh one, ninety five”. About 4 seconds later, the Capt indicated “it is not giving power” About 1 minute 9 seconds after the initial engine acceleration the FO called out “okay speed has now reached about hundred”. The Capt responded “oh yeah” and immediately afterward the FO called out “okay one eleven, ninety five”. About 1 minute 18 seconds after the initial engine acceleration, the FO indicated “hundred now”. The Capt acknowledged. About 1 minute 26 seconds after the initial engine acceleration, the FO called out “V one V R rotate” About 1 minute 33 seconds after the initial engine acceleration a transition of the airplane from ground to air mode is recorded and the pressure altitude begins to climb along with the Capt immediately afterward expressing two exclamations. Following the transition to air mode there were 51 seconds of flight recorder data before the recording ended. During this time and over a period of about 3 seconds, the FO calls out “positive rate of climb” and the Capt responded “gear up”. About 3 second later, the Capt expressed “it doesn’t have power [pause] it’s on one side.” About 6 seconds afterward, the FO said “we can also turn back”. About 3 seconds later the first of seven “don’t sink” (GPWS aural warning alerts) begins over a period of 23 seconds. After the second GPWS alert the Capt queried “ok, we’re ok?” After the third GPWS alert, the FO said “we can turn back” and the Capt immediately responded “let’s just go”. The FO replied “okay”. After the fifth GPWS alert, the Capt indicated “and this one is showing one fourteen” and then queried? “we can turn back?”. About 2 seconds later, the FO called out “okay speed is one hundred” and the Capt responded “but this one has nothing” About 1 second later and about the time of the sixth GPW alert, JKIA control tower radioed “five yankee charlie echo tango contact radar one two three decimal three. Good morning.” After the seventh GPWS alert the recording ended about 13 seconds later. During this time, the controller called the aircraft again. The Capt expressed “tell him [pause] tell him we have no power”. The last CVR data indicates the FO radioed, “ah tower charlie echo” and the transmission abruptly ended along with simultaneous sounds of distress. According to FDR data, about 15 seconds after the airplane transitioned from ground to air mode the recorded altitude peaked about 5060 feet and accompanied by a maximum airspeed of 100 knots. Along with a variation of airspeed between 90 knots and 100 knots for the remainder of the recording, during the following 20 seconds the altitude decreased to about 5000 feet and then increased to 5050 feet over the next 10 seconds where it remained until the recording ended at 1.14.27. Witness Accounts (Air Traffic Controller Civilians). The aircraft crashed during the hours of darkness at geographical coordinates of 01° 17’16”S, 36° 57’5”E.

The twin engine aircraft departed Nairobi-Wilson Airport in the morning for a flight to Marsabit and Lodwar, carrying exam documents. While returning to Wilson Airport in the afternoon, the airplane went out of control and crashed in an open field located about 15 km west of Wilson Airport. The pilot and a passenger were killed while the second passenger was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

The twin engine aircraft was engaged in a local post maintenance test flight from Nairobi-Wilson Airport. The crew consisted of two pilots and two engineers. During the takeoff roll from runway 07, the captain decided to abort. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the aircraft overran, went through a fence, lost its nose gear and came to rest in a field. All four occupants escaped with minor injuries while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The airplane departed Wilson Airport at 03:39 hours, transporting a cargo of miraa to Guriceel Airstrip, Somalia. Taxi, take off and climb were uneventful. However, at 04:23 and flying at FL230 the crew contacted Nairobi Area Control Centre (ACC) and requested for a turn back to Wilson Airport due to a 'slight problem'. At about the same time, the aircraft made a right turn from a heading of 50° to 240° magnetic and commenced descent. The crew reported descending to FL220 and expressed intention to descend further to FL180. However, ACC informed the crew to initially maintain FL200 due to traffic moving in the opposite direction. At 04:28 the crew informed ACC that they were unable to maintain FL200 and requested to descend to FL180 having crossed the opposite traffic. At 04:29, the crew confirmed to Air Traffic Control (ATC) that they were heading to Wilson Airport and indicated that they did not require any assistance. The aircraft continued descending until FL120. The Nairobi Approach Radar established contact with the aircraft at 04:41 and indicated to the crew that they were 98 nautical miles North East of November Victor. The crew was then told to turn left to a heading of 225° and report when they were top of descent, which they did. The crew reported again that they had a 'slight problem' and as a safety measure they had to shut down one engine. They also expressed desire to route direct to Silos. At 04:42 5Y-VVQ aligned with the North East access lane via Ndula Marker. At 04:45, the crew confirmed to Nairobi Approach Radar that the malfunction was on the left engine and again acknowledged that they did not require any assistance. At 04:51, the crew requested for radar vectors for an ILS approach to runway 06 at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with a long final to runway 32 of Wilson Airport. At 05:09, the aircraft descended to 8000ft heading 260°. At 05:14, the crew was given vectors for runway 32 Wilson Airport. At the same time, the aircraft turned right to a heading 310° as it continued to descend to 7000ft. The crew confirmed the vectors and at 05:15 stated that they were passing Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC). They were also informed that the Wilson Airport runway 32 was 6.5 nautical miles away in the two o'clock direction. The aircraft continued to descend to 6000ft and at 05:16, the crew confirmed sight of runway 32. The crew was then transferred from the radar to the Wilson Tower frequency for landing. 5Y-VVQ was cleared for a straight-in approach to runway 32. Wilson Tower then communicated to the crew airfield QNH was 1022hPa and that winds were calm. The Tower controller had 5Y-VVQ visual and it was cleared to land on runway 32. At about the same time, the aircraft made a 5° right bank and again leveled off before making a steep left bank rising to 30° within 4 seconds. According to Tower and eyewitness information, the aircraft appeared high on approach and on short-final, it was observed to turn a bit to the right. This was followed by a steep left bank. The aircraft left wing hit the ground first approximately 100 meters outside the airport perimeter fence. The aircraft then flipped over, hitting and breaking the airport fence and coming to rest on the left of runway 32 approximately 100 meters from its threshold. The aircraft immediately caught fire upon the impact. Upon further investigations and interview of company personnel, it was established that the crew had made the decision to shut down the left engine following a low oil pressure warning. The flight crew did not declare an emergency.

The crew was completing a local training at Nairobi-Wilson Airport. Shortly after takeoff, while in initial climb, the twin engine aircraft stalled and crashed, bursting into flames. One pilot was killed while the second one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

The aircraft departed Nairobi-Jomo Kenyatta Airport on a cargo flight to Baidoa, Somalia, carrying 3 crew members and a load consisting of 20 drums of fuel for the Somali interim Government in place in Baidoa, on behalf of the International Red Cross. Shortly after takeoff from runway 06, at a height of about 100 feet, the left engine lost power. The captain contacted ATC, declared an emergency and was cleared for an immediate return. After the engine was secured and the propeller was feathered, the crew initiated a turn when the aircraft lost height, collided with a power line and crashed onto a house, 3 minutes after takeoff. All three crew members were injured while no one was injured on ground.

At liftoff, the engine failed. The aircraft stalled and crashed along the runway. There were no casualties but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.