A gloomy mood engulfed Wilson Airport on Sunday afternoon at around minutes after 1pm when a chopper accidentally crashed and burst into flames seconds after taking off from the runway. Two occupants said to be of Zambian origin were on board at the time of the accident and narrowly escaped death in the spectacle which caught the attention of the nearby residents who flocked at the scene of the incident. Luckily, rescue efforts came in handy and the two occupants were quickly removed from the wreckage and immediately rushed to Nairobi Hospital.
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Two occupants of a chopper were Sunday afternoon rescued and rushed to hospital after it crash-landed and burst into flames at the Wilson Airport, Nairobi. Police and witnesses said the chopper was taking off when it came down few seconds later and burst into flames.
One of those injured is said to be the owner of the aircraft and was in the company of another occupant. They are both Zambians and were headed for Tanzania when the incident happened.
The chopper is said to have come from Juba in South Sudan and had made a stop-over at Wilson Airport.
Police say the pilot was supposed to land in Mwanza for another stop-over before heading to their country.
Preliminary findings show the chopper developed mechanical problems few minutes after taking off.
Airport CID boss Joseph Ngisa said experts were on the ground to gather more information on the crash.
“The plane crash landed near the fence of the airport and so far two occupants have been rescued and rushed to hospital but it was burnt completely,” said Ngisa.
The incident came months after a police chopper crashed within Ngong Forest and burnt six occupants including the then internal security minister George Saitoti and his assistant Orwa Ojode.
The cause of both crashes is yet to be known.
Investigators at the scene of the helicopter crash
Two pilots narrowly escaped death after a chopper they were flying crashed and burst into flames moments after taking off from Wilson Airport in Nairobi.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 5 – Two Zambian nationals are nursing serious injuries in hospital after a chopper they were flying in crash-landed and burst into flames at the Wilson Airport in Nairobi on Sunday.
Witnesses say the chopper was taking off when it came down a few seconds later and exploded into flames.
“I just saw the chopper drop and burst into a ball of flames before the rescue operation started,” said a private security guard at the busy airport.
Police said one of the Zambians is the owner of the ill-fated aircraft.
“Preliminary findings show the chopper developed mechanical problems immediately after taking off,” said Airport CID boss Joseph Ngisa.
The chopper is said to have come from Juba, South Sudan and had made a stop-over at the busy airport.
“I understand they were headed for Tanzania,” he said.
Cabinet Minister George Saitoti, his assistant Orwa Ojode their bodyguards, the pilot and co-pilot of the police helicopter that they were travelling in were killed in a helicopter crash on June 10, this year at Kibiku forest within Ngong.
The crash occurred at about 8.30am soon after the helicopter took off from Wilson Airport.
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The pilots sustained serious injuries in the Sunday afternoon crash that reduced their chopper to a shell. The privately-owned helicopter was heading to Mwanza when the accident occurred at 1.15pm Kenyan time. Confirming the accident, Kenya Airports Police Unit CID boss Joseph Ngisa said the chopper was owned by the injured pilot, who is a Zambian national. Ngisa said the chopper left Juba town in South Sudan in the morning and made a brief stopover at Wilson airport for inspection.
He said after checking the engine the pilots took off from the airport, but the chopper developed mechanical problems forcing them to crash land it. Ngisa said quick action by security officers at the airport saved the lives of the two pilots who were rushed to Nairobi Hospital for treatment. “Immediately the two were pulled out, the chopper burst into flames”. Ngisa said. The accident occurs a month and half after a Kenya Police helicopter crashed in Ngong forest, killing Internal Security Minister Prof. George Saitoi, his deputy Orwa Ojode, two pilots and their two bodyguards.
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