Light Aircraft Crashes In Nairobi National Park, Pilot & Student Injured

A Cessna 152 light aircraft operated by the West Rift Aviation School on Thursday, September 19 crashed into the Nairobi National Park, bearing registration number 5Y-PSJ.

Media reports indicated that a pilot and an aviation student suffered injuries after the crash which occurred shortly after midday.

Photos of the crash site shared across social media platforms showed a small plane lying in an upside-down position in the tall grass of Nairobi National Park.

Following the accident, a rescue team was immediately dispatched to the scene and helped to rescue those trapped under the wreckage.

Rescuers inspect the wreckage of a Cessna aircraft after it crashed at the Nairobi National Park on September 19, 2024. /FRANCIS GAITHO

The pilot was successfully extricated from the wreckage and is receiving medical attention, though the severity of the injuries is yet to be confirmed.

The cause of the crash was yet to be established by the time of publishing this story even as investigations began.

The Cessna 152 is an American two-seat, fixed-tricycle-gear, general aviation aeroplane, used primarily for flight training and personal use. It was based on the earlier Cessna 150 incorporating several minor design changes and a slightly more powerful engine with a longer time between overhauls.

Many flying schools use this aircraft, majorly for Private Pilot License (PPL) training. Each one has a different instrument set-up to give students and pilots experience with using different equipment.

Plane crashes involving light aircraft have occurred before in Kenya, and this is another instance where an aircraft belonging to a flight school crashed inside the capital city's national park.

On September 21, 2022, four people survived after a light aircraft crash-landed at the park shortly after it took off from Wilson Airport. 

Lang'ata OCPD Wanjiru Kimani, while confirming the incident, revealed that the aircraft's engine had failed shortly after it departed the busy airport.

The aircraft was a Cessna, registered as 5YBWE, the type of aircraft used in flight training sessions. It belonged to Flight Star Academy, a flying school. In similar circumstances, a video shared by NTV showed it lying upside down.

Recently, 10 passengers and a crew member narrowly escaped death after a plane they were travelling on veered off a runway at the Lichota Airstrip in Migori while taking off.