A Cessna 172 Skyhawk trainer aircraft crashed yesterday shortly after taking off from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport, it was learned overnight. The aircraft, owned and operated by Skylink Ltd. aka Skylink Flights, reportedly nosedived after takeoff just two minutes into the flight and crashed, killing both instructor, a Capt. Sam Gathara and his student pilot.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority has launched an air accident investigation to establish the cause of the crash though one eye witness based at Wilson commented off the record that the sudden dive of the aircraft could indicate that a mechanical failure took place midair causing the pilots to instantly lose control of the craft. That however has to be confirmed by the unfolding air accident enquiry as other reasons too could have come into play. The date of manufacture of the aircraft and entry into service at Skylink Ltd. aka Skylink Flights could not be ascertained at the time of uploading the report.

This is the third light aircraft crash reported here over the past days, first one from Tanzania – also a training flight from which instructor and student pilot walked away – and a few days ago a single engine Piper coming down near Kilifi where the pilot also survived but this was sadly not third time lucky too. Condolences to the families and friends of the two crash victims.