Fly 540 Fokker 50 crashes in maize field

A Fly540 aircraft crash- landed in a maize and cassava plantation after it failed to take off from Wilson Airport.

Witnesses said the plane, 5X-FFD, ran beyond the runway, shot through the airport fence and nosedived into the field on Thursday.

“It started well, but when it neared the end of the runway, I heard it reduce its engine roar. It then got into the field,” Mr Albanus Kioko said.

An official from the airline, who sought anonymity, said that the plane developed mechanical problems on take-off during a flight test.

He said the four people on board were unhurt but had been taken to hospital for check-up.

When the Daily Nation team arrived at the scene, officials from the Accident Investigation Department (Ministry of Transport) were on site checking the status of the aircraft.

Airport police boss James Mugera said investigations were under way.

The plane must have continued with the ground run because its front wheels had collapsed. Its nose got opened probably due to impact when it hit the ground.

Attempts to reach the airline’s operations manager, Mr Dickson Ooko, proved futile as calls to his phone went unanswered.

The airport is situated near residential buildings. If an aircraft fails to take off, it is likely to plunge into people’s homes.

The incident comes nearly a week after a KQ flight was forced to land without a rear wheel. However, no one was injured.