Startling revelations emerge about plane involved in deadly mid-air collision

In the wake of a tragic mid-air plane crash that claimed the lives of two individuals, new revelations have come to light regarding the aircraft's history at the pilot school.

One of the two planes that was involved in the mid-air collision was a Cessna 172M operated by a local flying school.

A report by Citizen TV said that the ill-fated plane had been flagged over past incidents.

The recent crash, which occurred in Nairobi is the latest in a string of incidents involving the same aircraft and the pilot training school.

The Cessna 172M, manufactured in 1976 and registered in August 2018, has been a part of the training fleet used by the school.

A plane that crashed at Nairobi National Park after colliding with another plane mid-air on March 5, 2024 A plane that crashed at Nairobi National Park after colliding with another plane mid-air on March 5, 2024 Pulse Live Kenya

January 2021 incident

Investigations conducted by the Ministry of Transport's Aircraft Accident Investigation Department revealed that in January 2021, during a routine training flight, the aircraft encountered difficulties during landing.

In this instance, the pilot, with 88 hours of flight experience, experienced trouble during a solo flight, leading to damage to the aircraft upon landing.

The investigation attributed the cause of the incident to the pilot's failure to follow proper landing procedures.

Another incident involving the same aircraft was classified as a serious incident by the investigation department.

October 2020

Furthermore, in October 2020, the same plane was subject to investigation after peculiar noises were heard during take-off for a flight intended to transport the crew to Turkana and back to Wilson Airport.

The report states that the student trainee then attempted to bring the plane back to the airport.

A section of Wilson Airport A section of Wilson Airport Pulse Live Kenya

Unfortunately, the aircraft veered off the runway and ended up landing in a nearby grassy area.

In light of these two incidents, the investigation department strongly recommended that the school thoroughly review its safety management systems and training programs.