The worst plane crashes that have ever occurred in Kenya are listed here. Kenya’s primary airline, Kenya Airways, has seen two mass fatality jet crashes since its founding, but overall, the country’s aviation industry has been quite safe, at least recently.
Private aircraft and helicopter accidents are less common, but when they do occur, nothing but death and suffering results. The first recorded plane disaster occurred in 1978 when Bruce Mackenzie, the agricultural minister at the time, perished when the aircraft he was traveling in crashed in the then-extremely dense Ngong Hills.
There have been many more, more serious incidents like the one involving Kenya Airlines, a national carrier, which crashed in a mangrove swamp southeast of Douala and killed all 114 people on board.
This comprehensive list of the worst plane crashes to ever occur in Kenya includes all Kenyan aircraft that have previously crashed outside of our borders.
List of Worst Plane Crashes in Kenya
1. KQ flight 431 Crash In the Atlantic Ocean
This is known to be one of the greatest air tragedies to ever affect Kenya’s aviation sector. 169 out of the 179 individuals on board KQ Flight 431, which was traveling to Nairobi at the time of the incident at around 9:00 PM on January 30, 2000, perished.
The stall alarm began to sound ten seconds after the aircraft lifted off from the airport and continued for around 20 seconds before the crew manually turned it off. This passenger plane left the airfield at Felix Houphouet Boigny airport in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean three seconds later.
Twenty Kenyans and 84 Nigerians made up the majority of those killed in the tragedy, with the other casualties hailing from other nations around the world.
2. KQA507 Boeing B737-800 (5Y-KYA) Crash In A Mangrove Swamp in Cameroon
One of the greatest air tragedies to ever affect Kenya’s aviation sector. 169 out of the 179 individuals on board KQ Flight 431, which was traveling to Nairobi at the time of the incident at around 9:00 PM on January 30, 2000, perished.
The stall alarm began to sound ten seconds after the aircraft lifted off from the airport and continued for around 20 seconds before the crew manually turned it off. This passenger plane left the airfield at Felix Houphouet Boigny airport in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean three seconds later.
At precisely 00:08, the incident took place. Six of the crew members were from Kenya, while the others were from other nations.
3. Military Helicopter Crash in Kaloleni
Kenya will record this incident as having the most fatalities from an aircraft crash within Kenyan airspace. Twenty of the 46 fatalities were military personnel, while six more persons died on the ground. This incident occurred in 1992. It is one of the worst plane crashes in Kenya.
4. Bruce Mackenzie’s Ngong Hills Helicopter Crash
Bruce Mckenzie, the only white member of Jomo Kenyatta’s cabinet at the time and the agricultural minister, perished in a plane crash in the Ngong Hills in 1978.
In actuality, Mackenzie was a South African who had relocated to Kenya. He was thought to be a British and Israeli spy, and it was widely assumed that Ugandan agents planted a bomb in his plane.
He is thought to have participated in the infamous Israeli Air Force operation on Entebbe, and Idi Amin is thought to have been seeking retribution.
5. Chopper Crash In Kibiku Forest; Ngong
One of Kenya’s most formidable and tenacious politicians was taken from us in this disaster. George Saitoti, the then-internal security minister, and Orwa Ojode, his assistant minister, were traveling on the helicopter to Ndhiwa for a fundraising event.
All six people, including the two pilots and the two bodyguards, perished. June was widely believed to be a gloomy month in the Kenyan calendar, and when this tragedy occurred on June 10, 2012, many people had their suspicions verified.
George Saitoti was a tenacious minister who served as the chief architect of Kenya’s military effort in Somalia and was a leading contender for the presidency in the following year’s elections.
With the discovery of carbon monoxide in the pilot’s lungs, there was much debate over whether Saitoti had passed away prior to the accident or had died right away after it, with the disaster being attributed to adverse weather.
6. Naivasha Plane Accident
On September 8, 2016, a small plane crashed in Naivasha as the passengers were touring the area. When the tragedy happened, the occupants were in Naivasha to attend a friend’s funeral. Witnesses said that the plane began rapidly spinning in the air before landing on a sanctuary farm a few kilometers from the runway and catching fire afterward.
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One of the six passengers, a Polish tourist, died at the scene while the Kenyan pilot had severe burns and was flown to Nairobi for specialized care. Five of the six passengers survived the crash.
7. Military Flight Y-12 Crash
After the pilot’s visibility was obstructed by severe weather and the jet crashed, the military aircraft was transporting politicians to Marsabit for a peace meeting.
Foreign Affairs Minister Bonaya Godana, Assistant Minister for Internal Security Mirugi Kariuki, Assistant Minister for Regional Development Authorities Titus Ngoyoni, and Members of Parliament Abdi Sasura and Guracha Boru were all on board. Three persons lived while 14 perished.
8. Cessna 210E Crash at Enoosupukia
On June 10, 2008, the small plane in question was carrying Kipkalya Kones, the then-MP for the Bomet Constituency, and Lorna Laboso, the assistant minister of home affairs. They were traveling to Kericho to assist with the organization of logistics for an ODM candidate who was running in the Ainamoi by-election.
Twenty minutes after departure, in bad visibility over the Mau escarpment, a charter plane crashed into high land. The minister, the member of parliament, the pilot, and a bodyguard were all killed when it crashed into a building in Kajonga, Enoosupukia, close to Narok.
9. Lake Nakuru Plane Crash
On October 21, 2017, this plane crash—one of the most recent in Kenya—took place. Just a few minutes after taking off from Jarika County Lodge in Nakuru, the helicopter, 5Y-NMJ, crashed, killing all five people on board.
Only three bodies—one for the pilot, one for Susan Kihika’s assistant, and one for a student—were recovered during the rescue mission; Veronica Muthoni and the other two bodies were never located. About forty divers were assigned to the duty of recovering the bodies.
As the two families went for a funeral on the eastern side of the lake without coffins or bodies to lay the grave, it was all emotions and tears. The relatives of those who were never found had to accept the painful reality that their loved ones had been eternally swallowed by the lake during the moving send-off.
10. FlySax Cesna C208 Crash
The most recent one took place just five years ago. On June 5, 2018, this small aircraft departed from Kitale’s airport with an estimated flight time of an hour and 20 minutes. It then touched down at JKIA at 5:20 p.m. Eight people, including 2 crew members, were traveling on this aircraft.
At the scheduled time of 5:20 p.m., the Cesna C208 disappeared off JKIA’s radar. A surveillance helicopter had earlier that day, on Thursday, located the plane’s wreckage close to Njabini, a town at the base of the Aberdares hills. All of the occupants were found to be dead when a rescue squad arrived.
Conclusion: Worst plane crashes in Kenya.
This is a comprehensive list of the worst plane crashes that have occurred in Kenya including those that have occurred outside the country.
