Tue, Jan 02, 2007
Three Crewmen Escape Without Injury
All three crew members
escaped without injury Saturday after a charter cargo plane hired
by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) crashed and
burst into flames moments after take off from the Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport, Nairobi, Kenya. The plane had been chartered
to ferry, among other supplies, 14 drums of jet fuel to Baidoa,
Somalia.
The aircraft, owned by Kenyan aviation firm the Sky Relief
Services, is the only aircraft allowed to fly the route from Kenya
to Somalia. ICRC officials say it was on a huminatarian aid
mission providing relief to Somalia's flood victims. The
plane crashed only three minutes after take off, according to
Nairobi's East African Standard. ICRC director Jean Claude said the
aircraft developed engine trouble and was unable to return the
field.
Witnesses and police said as the plane descended it hit
a utility wire before landing on its nose and skidding
forward. The crew were able to issue a distress call before the
crash alerting rescuers with the airport police who helped the
three escape the wreckage before it burst into flames.
"The pilot said it was engine trouble, but investigations were
still continuing," a Kenyan civil aviation source said. The crash
occurred in the early morning Saturday, as light rains and bad
weather was reported across Nairobi.
The Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority has launched investigations
into the crash.
The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is the largest
and busiest airport in East and Central Africa.
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