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Kenya Air Force Harbin Y-12 plane crash

Marsabit, Kenya
Kenya Air Force Harbin Y-12 plane crash - Marsabit, Kenya

Key facts

Airline
Kenya Air Force
Aircraft
Harbin Y-12
Location
Marsabit, Kenya
Date
10th April, 2006
People on board
17
Fatalities
14

Accident account

The Harbin Y-12 was on a military flight from Nairobi to Marsabit with 17 passengers (most of them were Kenyan politicians) and crew members on board.

They lost direction of the airstrip because of foggy weather and heavy rain and then crashed on a hill about three kilometres from Marsabit town, and burst into flames. The plane has been split into pieces with only its tail left intact.

3 passengers sited in the aft part of the plane survived.

"People were putting away their newspapers and preparing for the landing," recalled one of the three survivors. "I did not hear the pilot say anything about a problem. It was just a normal landing. I just saw the hill then heard a bang. My foot was trapped between the seats. I could not pull it out. I could feel that my arm was broken." Another survivor helped him to get out of the wreckage. He added: "When l was still on the ground, l could hear some bangs and then l faded out."

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Accident location

The aircraft (Harbin Y-12)

Aircraft similar to the one which crashed (Harbin Y-12)
Aircraft similar to the one which crashed (Harbin Y-12)