Safarilink Aviation Flight 053

Safarilink Aviation Flight 053

Accident
Date	5 March 2024
Summary	Mid-air collision
Site	over Nairobi National Park, Nairobi, Kenya 1°20′32″S 36°50′01″E / 1.34222°S 36.83361°E / -1.34222; 36.83361
Total fatalities	2
Total survivors	44
First aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident pictured with a previous operator in 2012
Type	De Havilland Canada DHC-8-315
Operator	Safarilink Aviation
IATA flight No.	F2053
ICAO flight No.	XLK053
Call sign	SAFARILINK 053
Registration	5Y-SLK[1]
Flight origin	Wilson Airport, Nairobi, Kenya
Destination	Ukunda Airport, Diani, Kenya
Occupants	44
Passengers	39
Crew	5
Fatalities	0
Injuries	0
Survivors	44
Second aircraft
A Cessna 172M, similar to the accident aircraft
Type	Cessna 172M
Operator	99 Flying School
Registration	5Y-NNJ[1]
Flight origin	Wilson Airport, Nairobi, Kenya
Destination	Wilson Airport, Nairobi, Kenya
Occupants	2
Crew	2
Fatalities	2
Survivors	0

On 5 March 2024, Safarilink Aviation Flight 053, a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 en route from Wilson Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, to Ukunda Airport, Kenya, collided after takeoff with a Cessna 172M training flight operated by 99 Flying School over Nairobi National Park. The Dash 8 returned to Wilson Airport and landed safely with all 44 aboard unharmed, but the Cessna crashed in the national park, killing both occupants.^[2]

The first aircraft involved in the collision was a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-315 (model DHC-8-315), manufacturer serial number 574, and registered as 5Y-SLK. The aircraft was manufactured by Bombardier Aviation on 28 September 2001 and in its 22 years of service, it had accumulated 31,997.5 flight hours in 34,971 cycles,^[a] and was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123E engines.^{[3]: 27—29} The flight consisted of 39 passengers and 5 crew members: 2 pilots, 2 flight attendants, and an engineer.^{[3]: 13 [4]} The captain had 7,547.5 flight hours, with 1,618.2 hours in the Dash 8 and the first officer had 3,229.4 flight hours, with 110.5 hours on the type.^{[3]: 24, 25}

The second aircraft involved was a Cessna 172M, registered 5Y-NNJ with serial number 172-65726. The aircraft was built by the Cessna Aircraft Company in 1976 and in its 48 years of service before the accident, it logged 12,289.1 flight hours, and it was equipped with a Lycoming O-320-E2D engine.^[3]: 27 The flight crew consisted of an instructor pilot and a student pilot.^[5] The instructor had 673.2 flight hours, while the student pilot had accumulated 48.7 flight hours.^{[3]: 23, 24}

The collision occurred at around 09:34 GMT (6:34 UTC) in visual meteorological conditions.^[3]: 13

Safarilink Aviation Flight 053 was operating from Wilson Airport en route to Ukunda Airport in the coastal resort town of Diani Beach. The captain was pilot flying and the first officer (FO) was pilot monitoring. At 9:29 GMT, Flight 053 was cleared to taxi to runway 14 via taxiway C.^[3]: 13 The Wilson air traffic control tower told Flight 053 to standby for takeoff because Cessna 5Y-NNJ had been cleared for a touch-and-go landing on runway 07, which intersects runway 14. Cessna 5Y-NNJ completed the touch-and-go and the Wilson tower controller cleared Flight 053 for takeoff and issued a traffic advisory to other pilots in the vicinity that an aircraft was taking off from runway 14. The tower controller advised Flight 053 that Cessna 5Y-NNJ should be on the crosswind leg of the airfield traffic pattern. A pilot in 5Y-NNJ acknowledged the traffic advisory and a pilot in Flight 053 acknowledged the takeoff clearance and traffic advisory.^[3]: 15

Flight 053 conducted a normal takeoff from runway 14, was instructed by the Wilson tower controller to contact Nairobi approach control, and initiated contact. As the flight was climbing through an altitude of about 6,000 ft (1,800 m) mean sea level (MSL), about 530 ft (160 m) above runway elevation,^{[3]: 15, 48} the pilots heard a "loud bang" and requested an immediate return to Wilson Airport. Approach control approved the request, and the pilots contacted the Wilson tower and landed safely on runway 32.^{[3]: 15 [b]} All 44 people on board the aircraft were unharmed.^{[3]: 18 [4][6]}

Cessna 5Y-NNJ, which also originated from Wilson Airport, had been flying in the airfield traffic pattern on an instructional flight for 99 Flying School, practicing touch-and-go landings on runway 07. Shortly after the collision, the Cessna crashed into the grounds of the Nairobi National Park near the airport, killing both pilots on board.^{[3]: 12–13 [4][5]} The tower controller unsuccessfully tried to contact Cessna 5Y-NNJ on the radio, and the pilot of another aircraft that had departed from runway 14 behind Flight 053 told the tower controller that she had seen something "flying low" near Flight 053. Soon afterwards, the pilots of other aircraft reported spotting the wreckage of Cessna 5Y-NNJ, and the tower controller activated the crash alarm. A helicopter that was in the area landed at the crash site to render assistance.^{[3]: 15–16}

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Department (AAID) of the Republic of Kenya launched an investigation into the accident and issued a preliminary report.^[3]

Sections of the deicing boots on the right wing and the right horizontal stabilizer of the Dash 8 were missing when the aircraft was inspected after landing. They were found next to the Cessna crash site.^{[3]: 20–22} The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) of the Dash 8 were not damaged and were retained by investigators for analysis.^{[3]: 50–52}

The fuselage of the Cessna bent severely and broke into several pieces, which investigators attributed primarily to a steep nose-down ground impact. The main wreckage was found to the right of the extended centerline of runway 14, 1.663 nmi (3.080 km; 1.914 mi) inside the national park. Several subassemblies of the Cessna including pieces of the horizontal stabilizers were separated from the fuselage and were found within 112.5 m (369 ft) of the main wreckage site.^{[3]: 53–54} The Cessna did not carry, nor was it required to carry, a CVR or FDR.^{[3]: 51–52}

Medical and pathological test results for the pilots were forthcoming when the preliminary report was issued; however, the report states that there was "no evidence that physiological factors or incapacitation affected the performance" of the pilots of Flight 053.^[3]: 54

• Ozark Air Lines Flight 965 – 1968 mid-air collision involving an airline flight and a training flight operating from the same airport
• 1984 San Luis Obispo mid-air collision – another accident involving an airline flight and a training flight operating from the same airport