Nairobi News

NewsWhat's Hot

All passengers, crew aboard FlySax plane died in crash – airline


None of the eight passengers and two crew members of FlySax plane that crashed in the Aberdares survived.

FlySax chairman Charles Wako made the announcement on Thursday at Weston Hotel in Nairobi as he pleaded for understanding.

The Cessna C208 aircraft, registration number 5Y-CAC, left a Kitale airstrip in Trans-Nzoia County at 4.05pm for Nairobi but lost contact with the control tower at 5.20pm.

On board were the pilot, Captain Barbra Wangeci Kamau, and First Officer and co-pilot Jean Mureithi.

The eight passengers were Ahmed Ali Abdi, Karaba Sailah Waweru Muiga, Khetia Kishani, Matakasakaraia Thamani, Matakatekei Paula, Ngugi George Kinyua, Pinuertorn Ronald and Wafula Robinson.

SHUTTERED HOPES

The announcement has shuttered the hopes of families and friends of the crew and passengers who hoped to find their loved ones alive.

Before the revelation, Transport Principal Secretary Paul Maringa had indicated that the plane’s wreckage was “reasonably” damaged.

The wreck was spotted at 6.45am by the aerial search team at Elephant Point, some 11,000 feet above sea level.

“A ground team of military specialists in mountain rescue operations has been dispatched to the site, which is 11,900ft up a 400m cliff face in a dense area,” Prof Maringa told journalists at Transcom House in Nairobi.