This archive report was first published on 19 November 2019.
On a mid-Monday incident, a light aeroplane belonging to the Kenya School of Flying branch in Malindi lost one of its wheels and crash landed at Malindi International Airport. The Cessna 152 aircraft was evacuated, and the trainee pilot was treated for trauma.
According to Malindi airport manager Mohammed Karama, the aircraft flew for two hours to exhaust its fuel in order to avoid explosion while crash landing. The control tower noticed that its fore wheel was missing while mid-air, and the male student pilot was advised to fly for two hours due to security reasons.
Fortunately, the pilot did not suffer injuries, although he was taken to hospital together with his instructor for psychological counseling. The section of the runway was damaged due to the landing impact, and the aircraft also got damaged.
Incidents of aircrafts crash landing in the area are not new. In November last year, a pilot was injured after a light aircraft failed to gain height during take-off and crashed into an electric post near a house in Furunzi, Malindi. In September 2016, a flight instructor and her student from Kenya School of Flying survived a crash at Malanga Primary school after their training flight developed mechanical problems.
