The worst plane crashes that have ever occurred in Kenya are listed here. Kenya’s primary airline, Kenya Airways, has seen two mass fatality jet crashes since its founding, but overall, the country’s aviation industry has been quite safe, at least recently.
Private aircraft and helicopter accidents are less common, but when they do occur, nothing but death and suffering results. The first recorded plane disaster occurred in 1978 when Bruce Mackenzie, the agricultural minister at the time, perished when the aircraft he was traveling in crashed in the then-extremely dense Ngong Hills.
There have been many more, more serious incidents like the one involving Kenya Airlines, a national carrier, which crashed in a mangrove swamp southeast of Douala and killed all 114 people on board.
This comprehensive list of the worst plane crashes to ever occur in Kenya includes all Kenyan aircraft that have previously crashed outside of our borders.
List of Worst Plane Crashes in Kenya
1. KQ flight 431 Crash In the Atlantic Ocean
This is known to be one of the greatest air tragedies to ever affect Kenya’s aviation sector. 169 out of the 179 individuals on board KQ Flight 431, which was traveling to Nairobi at the time of the incident at around 9:00 PM on January 30, 2000, perished.
The stall alarm began to sound ten seconds after the aircraft lifted off from the airport and continued for around 20 seconds before the crew manually turned it off. This passenger plane left the airfield at Felix Houphouet Boigny airport in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean three seconds later.
Twenty Kenyans and 84 Nigerians made up the majority of those killed in the tragedy, with the other casualties hailing from other nations around the world.
2. KQA507 Boeing B737-800 (5Y-KYA) Crash In A Mangrove Swamp in Cameroon
One of the greatest air tragedies to ever affect Kenya’s aviation sector. 169 out of the 179 individuals on board KQ Flight 431, which was traveling to Nairobi at the time of the incident at around 9:00 PM on January 30, 2000, perished.
The stall alarm began to sound ten seconds after the aircraft lifted off from the airport and continued for around 20 seconds before the crew manually turned it off. This passenger plane left the airfield at Felix Houphouet Boigny airport in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean three seconds later.
At precisely 00:08, the incident took place. Six of the crew members were from Kenya, while the others were from other nations.
3. Military Helicopter Crash in Kaloleni
Kenya will record this incident as having the most fatalities from an aircraft crash within Kenyan airspace. Twenty of the 46 fatalities were military personnel, while six more persons died on the ground. This incident occurred in 1992. It is one of the worst plane crashes in Kenya.
4. Bruce Mackenzie’s Ngong Hills Helicopter Crash
Bruce Mckenzie, the only white member of Jomo Kenyatta’s cabinet at the time and the agricultural minister, perished in a plane crash in the Ngong Hills in 1978.
In actuality, Mackenzie was a South African who had relocated to Kenya. He was thought to be a British and Israeli spy, and it was widely assumed that Ugandan agents planted a bomb in his plane.
He is thought to have participated in the infamous Israeli Air Force operation on Entebbe, and Idi Amin is thought to have been seeking retribution.