Twelve Feared Dead in Light Aircraft Crash Shortly After Take-Off in Kwale

Twelve people are feared dead after a light aircraft crashed and burst into flames shortly after taking off from Diani Airstrip in Kwale County on Tuesday morning.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said the aircraft, which was heading to Kichwa Tembo in the Maasai Mara, went down at around 8:30am in the Vyungwani area of Matuga. The crash occurred shortly after departure, in hilly terrain covered by fog. 

Heavy rainfall had been reported overnight and into the morning, raising concerns about poor visibility. Local residents said they heard a loud explosion before finding the wreckage engulfed in flames. 

“It was still very early when I heard a loud bang,” said Mr Makopa Sazu, a resident of Vyungwani. “I rushed to the scene and found the plane had caught fire and there was no one we could save.”

Emergency teams and security personnel were deployed to the site soon after the incident. Kwale County Police Commander Abdillahi Alio confirmed the crash, while County Commissioner Stephen Orinde is expected to release further information.

KCAA Director-General Emile Arao said government agencies were already on the ground investigating the cause and assessing the impact of the accident.

Although the cause of the crash has not yet been established, it adds to a series of fatal light aircraft accidents reported in Kenya this year. 

In August, an Amref Flying Doctors plane crashed in Mwihoko, Nairobi, shortly after taking off from Wilson Airport, killing all six people on board. In January, a crash-landing in Malindi, Kilifi County, claimed three lives on the ground and injured several passengers. 

Later that month, a Cessna A185F went down in Kedong Ranch, Naivasha, killing two people. A preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Department cited low cloud cover and poor visibility as likely contributing factors.

Additional accidents occurred in March and June, resulting in further fatalities. In March, a trainee pilot was killed when their aircraft caught fire mid-flight in Taita-Taveta. In June, two Kenya Defence Forces officers died after a training aircraft crashed in Kwale.