Plane skids off runway in Kenya's Wilson Airport

NAIROBI, Kenya - Operations at Wilson Airport, West of Nairobi were temporarily halted for 30 minutes on Tuesday after a plane skidded off the runway while landing, authorities have confirmed.

The Safarilink plane, registration 5Y-SLJ, was coming from Lamu in the coastal region when it veered off the runway, with 10 passengers on board during the 6 pm incident.

In a statement on the Twitter account, Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), the body mandated to inspect and clear aircraft, said the plane skidded off due to 'one deflated tyre'.

"After landing, it veered off runway 14 due to deflated tyres. The runway was closed for 30 minutes to allow the aircraft to be towed away," said Captain Gilbert Kibe, the body's Director-General.

He added: It's now operational. We regret the incident. The aircraft is not damaged. We inspected the aircraft and it was okay."

All the ten passengers and the crew we're evacuation to safety before normal operations resumed in Kenya's undoubtedly second busiest airport.

Safarilink, the company operating the aircraft, also confirmed the accident, adding that nobody was injured. It also confirmed that the aircraft had been towed from the scene of the accident.

“Our aircraft a Cessna Caravan C208 registration 5Y-SLJ had a tyre burst on landing at Wilson Airport at 6.20 pm. We can confirm that there were no injuries and that the aircraft was procedurally removed from the runway,” read part of the statement.

Apparently, the latest incident could pile more pressure on KCAA, given that it comes hours after yet another aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at Eldoret International Airport, 500 KM from Nairobi.

The Silverstone plane dropped off one of the rear wheels midairs on Monday near Lodwar airstrip in Northern Kenya, forcing the crew members to request for an emergency landing in Eldoret.

Captain Gilbert Kibe said: "We are currently in inspecting all aircraft to ascertain the level of compliance. We are also investigating the Silverstone aircraft incident."

Silverstone company has specifically been put on the radar by members of the public and authorities due to recurring scary incidents this month.

A fortnight ago, one of the aircraft's attached to the company veered off the runway at Wilson Airport injuring 9 people. It was headed to Lamu. An MP from ruling Jubilee party Mrs Jerusha Momanyi was one of those rescued.

Incidents of plane crashes are common in the East African nation. Early this year, five people died near Lodwar airstrip in Turkana when the helicopter there was using crashed. A pilot attached to Deputy President William Ruto was flying the chopper.

Reporting by Abuga Makori in Nairobi; Editing by Omar Nor

GAROWE ONLINE