One Killed, Two Injured as Aircraft Crashes in Naivasha

One person was killed and two injured after a light aircraft crashed in Naivasha on Monday evening.

Confirming the incident, Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said the aircraft registration number 5Y-BCL went down at Ndabibi area in Naivasha.

Through a statement on Tuesday, KCAA Director-General Capt. Gilbert M. Kibe said the plane owned and operated by Desert Locust had three people on board.

He indicated that one person suffered fatal injuries and the other two suffered unspecified injuries.

“We shall keep you updated once we get more information about the accident,” the statement added.

Nakuru County Police Commander Beatrice Kiraguri said the ill-fated airplane had left Wilson Airport in Nairobi on a locust monitoring mission and was headed for Lodwar, Turkana County, and onwards to Ethiopia.

She noted that preliminary investigations showed the crash may have been caused by poor weather and dense fog in the forest which may have affected visibility.

Kiraguri said the accident claimed the life of the co-pilot while the pilot and one passenger suffered serious injuries and are currently receiving treatment at Naivasha Sub-County Hospital.

Police who reported at the scene managed to retrieve the plane’s black box which will help establish the main cause of the accident once an expert analysis is conducted.

Eyewitnesses said the plane was flying very low before it crashed and burst into flames.

“The plane was producing some loud noise and we knew something was wrong before it crashed in the forest and burst into flames,” said John Nere, a resident of Ndabibi.