Safarilink plane skids off runway at Wilson Airport

A passenger plane operated by local airline Safarilink on Tuesday evening skid off the runway at Wilson Airport, Nairobi.

The Cessna Caravan plane, registration 5Y-SLJ, from Lamu left the runway following a tyre burst barely a few moment after arriving at the airport from Lamu.

The plane had ten passengers and two crew members on board.

In a statement Wednesday, Safarilink confirmed the incident saying that no casualties were reported.

“Safarilink Aviation confirms that our aircraft a Cessna Caravan registration 5Y-SLJ had a tyre burst on landing Wilson Airport at 18:20 pm in bound from Lamu,” said the airline in a statement Wednesday.

“We can confirm that there were no injuries and that the aircraft was procedurally removed from the runway,” said the firm.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), is yet to make an official statement on the incident, the latest which has exposed laxity in enforcing safety rules by the aviation regulator.

The incident is the latest involving the carrier that is raising questions about the safety of the airline’s fleet.

A Silverstone Air flight Dash 8-300 lost one of its tyres when it took off from Lodwar Airstrip Monday, after the aircraft’s wheel dropped off mid-air.

This was the second mishap involving the airline within a month after another aircraft belonging to the firm skidded off the runway and crashed shortly after takeoff from Wilson Airport October 11.

“The captain of the flight decided to divert to Eldoret International Airport in the interests of the continued safety of the passengers and the crew. This was a precautionary action and the aircraft landed safely,” said Silverstone Airline Monday.