3 individuals were burnt beyond identification when the Fokker F-27 MK- 500 aircraft on Sunday crashed inside Serengeti National Park, a couple of minutes after it set off at Mwanza Airport.
Charles Chacha the Acting Director General of Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority – TCAA affirmed this crash that involved a Safari Express Limited aircraft, of registration 5Y-SXP which was going from Mwanza to land into Nairobi.
The remains of this aircraft, among which was the registration number 5Y-SXP, were seen by a search and rescue team the other day inside this internationally renowned wildlife reserve, approximately Fifteen miles from the border of Kenya and Tanzania .
Based on the available information, this plane set off from the Airport in Mwanza on Sunday at about 4.26pm. It is alleged to have later lost communication with the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport – JKIA radar once it reached 14,000ft above sea level.
Mr. Chacha informed the media that a workforce from the Tanzania Airports Authority – TAA began searching for this missing plane as soon as they received details regarding its disappearance from the JKIA’s radars.
He went on to say that they obtained information on that missing plane on the very day its set off -Sunday. Attempts to look for it started soon after and by morning they were able to confirm that it had unfortunately crashed Forty km near the border of Tanzania and Kenya.
He mentioned that detailed information about the plane crash will be released later soon after the investigation team has finished its task. The Media reports from the Kenyan side said that the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority as well confirmed that a Fokker F-27 MK-500 aircraft was meant to land at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport – JKIA at about 8.36pm.
The statement from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority read that unfortunately, the aircraft didn’t land as planned and an inquiry workforce was sent to Tanzania in complying with international standards.
