This archive report was first published on 20 November 2019.
On Monday, a Cessna aircraft belonging to the Kenya School of Flying branch in Malindi experienced a harrowing mid-air incident, losing one of its wheels in mid-air.
Fortunately, the pilot trainee, Emmanuel Omindi, and his instructor were advised by air-traffic control to fly for two hours to expend the fuel in the craft, avoiding a potential explosion upon crash landing.
Speaking on Tuesday, Malindi airport manager Mohammed Karama explained that the control tower noticed the missing wheel while the aircraft was airborne and instructed the pilot to fly for two hours due to security reasons.
Although the pilot and his instructor did not suffer physical injuries, they were taken to the hospital for psychological counseling due to trauma.
Security teams, the fire brigade, and medical personnel from Tawfique hospital arrived at the airport even before the aircraft crash-landed, and a section of the runway and the aircraft were damaged due to the landing impact.
Aviation investigators will establish the cause of the accident, which fortunately occurred when the airspace was not busy and did not disrupt normal operations.
