This past weekend, our country was rocked by the sad news that an Ethiopian Airlines plane had crashed killing all 157 passengers on board, 32 of whom were Kenyans.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane crashed six minutes after taking off from Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, on a flight to Nairobi. The plane crashed around Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, some 50 kilometers south of the capital, shortly after taking off at 8:38 a.m. local time.
Kenya has already experienced such tragic aircraft crashes in the past. Some of the worst are below:
Military Helicopter Crash in Kaloleni
This catastrophe occurred in 1992 and will go down as the crash with the highest fatalities on Kenyan soil.
46 people died, 20 of them being military men and six more were killed on the ground.
KQ flight 431 Crash
This crash occurred on 30th January 2000, with the flight headed to Nairobi when the disaster struck at around 9:00 PM, killing 169 people out of the 179 people who were on board.
The plane crashed into the Atlantic ocean just a few metres from Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Military Flight Y-12 Crash
The disaster occurred on April 10, 2006. The crash killed Bonaya Godana who was then foreign affairs minister, assistant internal security minister Mirugi Kariuki, regional development authorities assistant minister Titus Ngoyoni and MPs Abdi Sasura and Guracha Boru.
14 people died and three others survived. The crash was blamed on bad weather affecting the pilot’s visibility.
KQA507 Boeing B737-800 (5Y-KYA)
This plane crash occurred on 4th May 2007. Shortly after taking off from Douala international airport, the plane went into a nosedive, crashing into a mangrove swamp killing all the 114 occupants on board.
Cause of the crash has been determined as pilot error.
Cessna 210E Crash at Enoosupukia
On 10 June 2008, then Bomet constituency MP Kipkalya Kones and Assistant Minister of Home Affairs Lorna Laboso, lost their lives when the aircraft crashed 20 minutes after takeoff.
The plane crashed into the high ground over the Mau escarpment in conditions of poor visibility. Along with the two who died were the pilot and a bodyguard.
Chopper Crash In Kibiku Forest
This crash occurred on 10th June 2012. The crash resulted in the deaths of then Internal security minister George Saitoti and his assistant minister Orwa Ojode. The two were headed to Ndhiwa for a fundraising.
All the six occupants died including two pilots and two bodyguards. The accident was blamed on bad weather.
Lake Nakuru Plane Crash
2 years ago on 21 October 2017, a helicopter; 5Y-NMJ crashed inot Lake Nakuru killing all the five occupants inside. The plane had just taken off from Jarika County Lodge in Nakuru.
Two of the bodies were never recovered despite the efforts of 40 divers. No cause for the crash has been proffered yet.
FlySax Cessna C208 Crash
5th of June last year, the light aircraft took off the Kitale airstrip with 8 passengers and 2 crew. The plane crashed near Njabini town on the edge of the Aberdares mountain range, killing all aboard.
The cause of the crash has not been conclusively found.
FlySax 540 plane, Cessna 206-5Y BSE
On February 13, 2019, aFlySax 540 plane crashed killing all 5 occupants near Makutano Forest in Londiani, Kericho County.
The cause of the crash has not yet been substantiated.
Bell 505, registration SYKDL
Last Sunday, a chopper piloted by DP William Ruto’s personal pilot crashed in Lake Turkana. The chopper crash killed all the five occupants of the plane, the pilot included.
Initial reports indicate that the crash might have occurred due to poor visibility.