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Air Ambulance Jet Crashes Near Nairobi, Killing Six

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority has opened a formal investigation into the crash after the air ambulance burst into flames minutes after takeoff.

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A medical light aircraft crashed into a small residential block near the Kenyan capital, killing four people onboard and two on the ground, a local official said

Overview

  • The Cessna Citation XLS operated by AMREF Flying Doctors departed Wilson Airport for Hargeisa at 2:17 pm local time on August 7 and lost contact with air traffic control three minutes into the flight.
  • Eyewitnesses reported the jet caught fire midair before plummeting into a house in the Ruiru suburb of Kiambu County and showering debris over nearby homes.
  • Four people on board, comprising two doctors and two nurses, died in the crash and two residents inside the struck house were also killed, while two others on the ground were seriously injured.
  • Kenya Red Cross teams, National Police Service officers and Kenya Defence Forces personnel secured the wreckage and led rescue and recovery operations as fire crews extinguished burning debris.
  • The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and Air Accident Investigation Department opened a probe into the cause of the crash, underscoring ongoing safety concerns for light-aircraft operations in Kenya.