Yesterday’s air accident that claimed the lives of 10 Kenya Air Force (KAF) officers in Ol Tepesi in Kajiado county is the second worst in terms of fatalities since the April 1992 tragedy in when a KAF Buffalo crashed killing all the 46 as well as six civilians.

The soldiers who were aboard the ill-fated chopper were headed for a training exercise on military survival tactics when it crashed at around 8am yesterday.

The worst accident that claimed the highest number of lives was on April 16, 1992 when a Buffalo registration number KAF 214 killed all the 46 occupants as well as six civilians on the ground.

Shortly after takeoff from runway 06 at the Moi Air Base in Eastleigh, Nairobi while in initial climb, the left engine failed.

The captain contacted the tower, declared an emergency and was cleared to turn left.

“All 46 occupants as well as six people on the ground were killed and the cause of the accident was attributed to left engine failure,” a report stated.

In January this year, another KAF aircraft crashed at the Tsavo East National Park in Voi Taita Taveta County killing four occupants.

The aircraft model Harbin Y-12 was from Moi Air Base Eastleigh Nairobi. “On approach to Voi Airport, the twin engine aircraft struck the slope of Mt Irima located about 9 km north from runway 18 threshold. All four occupants were killed,” a brief report stated.

In July last year, two senior military officers perished in another helicopter crash at Kanyonga Village in Masinga, Machakos County.

The KDF said the chopper, MD-530F which was acquired early last year, crashed killing the two officers both of the rank of Major.

In that incident, the military did not release the identities of the fallen officers.

It was however revealed that the two deceased officers were Major Jacob Agunda Adamba and Major Robert Mumu Ngombwa who were experienced pilots who had served both in the Operation Linda Nchi and the Amisom.

The ill-fated chopper was one of the six choppers acquired in January last year through Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Program and had two pilots on board by the time of the accident.

Last year, another military chopper crash landed in Somalia, injuring 10 soldiers.

The double-engine aircraft had delivered supplies to the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) troops when the incident at the Dhobley airstrip.

“All the 10 military personnel aboard the aircraft are at the Defense Forces Memorial Hospital in Nairobi in stable condition,” Military spokesperson Col Zipporah Kioko said in a statement then.  

The plane is reported to have been on a return trip after delivering supplies to the soldiers who are part of Amisom-based in the Lower Juba region near the Kenyan border.

On July 25, 2002, the military DHC-5 Buffalo crashed in Mugumo, Central region. The aircraft was engaged in a training mission when the crew encountered engine problems. The aircraft crash landed near Mugumo and was damaged beyond repair. 

“All seven occupants escaped uninjured. The probable cause was engine failure for unknown reasons,” a report stated.

On May 1, 1999, another Buffalo collided with a building killing one person on the ground.  All five occupants escaped uninjured.