Safarilink Aviation Flight 053

On 5 March 2024, Safarilink Aviation Flight 053, a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 en route from Wilson Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, to Ukunda Airport, Kenya, collided after takeoff with a Cessna 172M training flight operated by 99 Flying School over Nairobi National Park. The Dash 8 returned to Wilson Airport and landed safely with all 44 aboard unharmed, but the Cessna crashed in the national park, killing both occupants.

Safarilink Aviation Flight 053
99 Flying School 5Y-NNJ

Accident
Date	5 March 2024
Summary	Mid-air collision
Site	over Nairobi National Park, Nairobi, Kenya 1°20′32″S 36°50′01″E
Total fatalities	2
Total survivors	44
First aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident pictured with a previous operator in 2012
Type	De Havilland Canada DHC-8-315
Operator	Safarilink Aviation
IATA flight No.	F2053
ICAO flight No.	XLK053
Call sign	SAFARILINK 053
Registration	5Y-SLK
Flight origin	Wilson Airport, Nairobi, Kenya
Destination	Ukunda Airport, Diani, Kenya
Occupants	44
Passengers	39
Crew	5
Fatalities	0
Injuries	0
Survivors	44
Second aircraft
A Cessna 172M, similar to the accident aircraft
Type	Cessna 172M
Operator	99 Flying School
Registration	5Y-NNJ
Flight origin	Wilson Airport, Nairobi, Kenya
Destination	Wilson Airport, Nairobi, Kenya
Occupants	2
Crew	2
Fatalities	2
Survivors	0

Aircraft and crew

The first aircraft involved in the collision was a De Havilland Canada DHC-8-315, manufacturer serial number 574, and registered as 5Y-SLK. The aircraft was manufactured by Bombardier Aviation on 28 September 2001 and in its 22 years of service, it had accumulated 31,997.5 flight hours in 34,971 cycles, and was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123E engines. The flight consisted of 39 passengers and five crew members: two pilots, two flight attendants, and an engineer. The captain had 7,547.5 flight hours, with 1,618.2 hours in the Dash 8 and the first officer had 3,229.4 flight hours, with 110.5 hours on the type.

The second aircraft involved was a Cessna 172M, registered 5Y-NNJ with serial number 172-65726. The aircraft was built by the Cessna Aircraft Company in 1976 and in its 48 years of service before the accident, it logged 12,289.1 flight hours, and it was equipped with a Lycoming O-320-E2D engine. The flight crew consisted of an instructor pilot and a student pilot. The instructor had 673.2 flight hours, while the student pilot had accumulated 48.7 flight hours.

Accident

The collision occurred at around 09:34 GMT (6:34 UTC) in visual meteorological conditions.

Safarilink Aviation Flight 053 was operating from Wilson Airport en route to Ukunda Airport in the coastal resort town of Diani Beach. At 9:29 GMT, Flight 053 was cleared to taxi to runway 14 via taxiway C. The captain was pilot flying and the first officer (FO) was pilot monitoring. The Wilson air traffic control tower cleared Flight 053 for takeoff and issued a traffic advisory to other pilots in the vicinity that an aircraft was taking off from runway 14. A pilot in 5Y-NNJ acknowledged the traffic advisory and a pilot in Flight 053 acknowledged the takeoff clearance.

Flight 053 conducted a normal takeoff from runway 14, was instructed by the Wilson tower controller to contact Nairobi approach control, and initiated contact. As the flight was climbing through an altitude of about 6,000 ft (1,800 m) mean sea level (MSL) (about 530 ft (160 m) above runway elevation), the pilots heard a "loud bang" and requested an immediate return to Wilson Airport. Approach control approved the request, and the pilots contacted the Wilson tower and landed safely on runway 32. All 44 people on board the aircraft were unharmed.

The Cessna, which also originated from Wilson Airport, had been flying in the airfield traffic pattern on an instructional flight for 99 Flying School, practicing touch and go landings on the intersecting runway 07. Shortly after the collision, the Cessna crashed into the grounds of the Nairobi National Park near the airport, killing both pilots on board.

Investigation

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Department (AAID), Republic of Kenya Ministry of Roads and Transportation, launched an investigation of the accident and issued a preliminary report.

Sections of the deicing boots on the right wing and the right horizontal stabilizer of the DHC-8 were found to be missing when the aircraft was inspected after landing. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) of the DHC-8 were not damaged and were retained by investigators for analysis.

The fuselage of the Cessna broke into several pieces. The main wreckage was found slightly to the right of the extended centerline of runway 14, 1.663 nmi (3.080 km; 1.914 mi) inside the national park. Several subassemblies of the Cessna including a horizontal stabilizer were separated from the fuselage and were found within 112.5 m (369 ft) of the main wreckage site, along with both missing deicing boots from the DHC-8. The Cessna did not carry, nor was it required to carry, a CVR or FDR.

See also

• Ozark Air Lines Flight 965 – 1968 mid-air collision involving an airline flight and a training flight operating from the same airport
• 1984 San Luis Obispo mid-air collision – another accident involving an airline flight and a training flight operating from the same airport

References