Preliminary report: Investigators detail final moments of AMREF plane before crashing in Mwihoko
Eyewitnesses said the aircraft was seen emitting smoke from one side and that they heard engine noises moments before it came crashing down in a high-energy, nose-down attitude, creating a metre-deep crater in the ground before erupting into a fireball. Loud bangs were heard on impact.
The preliminary report on the AMREF Flying Doctors aircraft that crashed on August 7 in Mwihoko, Kiambu County, killing all on board, has revealed that there was no chance of survival for the crew or passengers.
“The accident was not survivable. All injuries were consistent with the crash dynamics. Several damaged and burnt fragments of seats and harnesses were found at the crash site,” the report, released on Friday, states.
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According to the Aircraft Accident Investigations Department (AAID), the AMREF personnel operating the Cessna Citation 560XLS, registration number 5Y-FDM, began their day routinely by filing a flight plan at Wilson Airport at around 9:28 am.
In the plan, they indicated that they were conducting a medical evacuation in Hargeisa, Somaliland, with four persons on board- two crew members and two doctors.
At around 11:12 am, the pilot was cleared for take-off by Wilson’s Air Traffic Control Tower and acknowledged the instructions. Two minutes later, the aircraft departed as instructed, with the crew reading back the final clearance: “Radar one two two three, Fly Doc three, good day.”
Two more instructions were issued to the crew regarding the route and climb altitude, which were confirmed back. However, at about 11:18 am, the aircraft disappeared from the radar screen.
“Approach radar made efforts to contact the aircraft repeatedly from 11:18 am to 11:27 am without success. An emergency was declared by HKNW Tower and, upon search, the aircraft was found to have crashed into a residential building adjacent to AIPCA Ngatho Church in Ruiru, Kiambu County, at about 11:17 am,” the preliminary report adds.
Eyewitnesses said the aircraft was seen emitting smoke from one side and that they heard engine noises moments before it came crashing down in a high-energy, nose-down attitude, creating a metre-deep crater in the ground before erupting into a fireball. Loud bangs were heard on impact.
“The main wreckage area was approximately 22 metres wide by 20 metres long. Large parts of the forward fuselage, including the cockpit, were consumed by fire. Remnants of a flight crew seat and one of the left-side windscreens were found at the initial impact point, damaged and burnt. Many sections of the mid and aft fuselage, as well as the tailplane, were destroyed, while others were propelled forward at varied distances,” the report notes.
CCTV footage obtained from nearby residential buildings captured the aircraft’s final moments, showing it spinning to the right with smoke emanating from its right side before striking the residential building.
“The aircraft was destroyed upon impact in a high-energy, nose-down attitude and was subsequently consumed by fire. The building sustained partial structural damage. All occupants on board the aircraft and two persons on the ground sustained fatal injuries. Two other persons on the ground suffered serious injuries and were taken to the hospital for treatment,” the document states.
However, some of the aircraft’s parts were not recovered, as they had been stolen before the crash site was secured.
“Some aircraft parts were pilfered. The local administration worked to deter scrap metal dealers from purchasing the stolen parts, which led to the recovery of many, though not from their original point of impact,” the report says.
While the preliminary findings are inconclusive, the official who signed off the report on behalf of the Chief Investigator of Aircraft Accidents said the ongoing investigation will analyse all available information, establish findings, determine probable cause(s) and contributing factors, and issue safety recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents.
Meanwhile, parts of the aircraft’s debris were sent to its US manufacturer, Textron Aviation Inc., for further examination.
The Cessna Citation 560XLS is one of Textron Aviation’s best-selling business jets. In March 2021, the company celebrated its 1,000th delivery of the midsize model.
The ill-fated jet was manufactured in January 2007. At the time of the crash, it held a valid certificate of airworthiness issued in December last year, due to expire in December this year.
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