The aircraft involved in the accident was a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan registered as 5Y-CCA. The aircraft was manufactured in 2007 and initially delivered to a US-based operator and registered as N12686. The aircraft was then acquired by a Tanzanian airline and then sold to Mombasa Air Safari in 2013.[3]
Passengers and crew
On board the aircraft there were 10 passengers, eight Hungarian nationals and two German nationals, and a Kenyan pilot.[4]
Accident
Mombasa Air Safari could not confirm at which time Flight 203 departed Ukunda Airport, since the pilot failed to contact the departure tower. The aircraft crashed at around 5:30 am local time while en route on a two-hour flight to Kichwa Tembo Airport, located near the Serengeti National Park, a popular tourist destination. Air traffic control tried to contact the aircraft for over half an hour, until the crash site was located about 10 kilometers from the town of Kwale, a hilly and forested area where bad weather, including heavy fog, was present at the time of the accident. Photos show the aircraft wreckage scattered near the crash site and on fire.[5][6] Rescue services managed to reach the crash site after sunrise. On October 29 recovery operations at the crash site continued, also with the use of an excavator.[7]
Reactions
Shortly after the crash, the chairman of Mombasa Air Safari, John Cleave, released a statement in which he acknowledged the accident and sent his condolences to the families of the victims. An assistance team was also established by the airline.[8]
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán sent his condolences to the families of the victims, and that the Minister of Foreign Affairs is in contact with Kenyan authorities since most of the fatalities were Hungarian nationals.[6] Kenyan secretary of transport, Davis Chirchir, also sent his condolences and stated that safety remains the highest priority in the Kenyan aviation sector.[9]
Investigation
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority sent investigators to the crash site and started an investigation to find out the causes of the crash. Stephen Orinde, Kwale County Commissioner, declared that investigators are focusing on adverse weather as the possible main cause of the accident. Mombasa Air Safari is cooperating with the aviation authorities in the crash investigation.[10] The KCAA stated that a preliminary report about the accident will be released in 30 days.[7]
See also
Fly-SAX Flight 102 - Another Cessna 208 that crashed during a national flight in Kenya
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