Donkeys accused of crashing Kenyan airplane in Somalia
A Kenyan plane crashed in Somalia apparently because of several donkeys grazing near the airstrip. The aircraft was carrying humanitarian aid under UN control.
A cargo plane was unable to land correctly on the runway at Beledweyne airport in Somalia, Kenyans.co.ke reports. The main cause of the accident was to be found near a herd of donkeys, which were grazing on the edge of the track.
As the aircraft was about to land, one of the animals, frightened, indeed crossed the runway. The pilot tried to correct his trajectory but could not avoid the donkey, which he finally struck.
The plane crashed into piles of sand at the edge of the runway. The three crew members on board were able to be removed from the aircraft. They suffered minor injuries and were taken to a local field hospital.
“The plane came from Djibouti earlier this morning, and on landing a donkey crossed the runway, they hit the donkey and were thrown into a trench on the side of the runway, but the crew is perfectly fine,” Captain Hussein Mohamed, general manager of the company owning the plane told Kenyans news site.
Humanitarian aid transport
The Dash 8 aircraft belonged to Bluebird Aviation, a Kenyan regional carrier. It had been chartered by the UN to transport foodstuffs and other humanitarian aid items, in particular to Amisom (African Union Mission in Somalia).
Several other Kenyan planes have crashed in Somalia in recent months. One of them crashed near the town of Bardale, killing six people. Another was shot dead by unidentified armed forces in the Bay Area on May 25.
