We close out this week with the following stories...
Have a safe weekend!
Tom
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Embraer Aircraft Veers Off Runway on Nairobi-Mandera Flight
By Janeffer Katila
The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has confirmed a runway excursion involving an EBB Air Embraer aircraft that was arriving at Mandera Airstrip from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on April 24.
According to a statement from KAA, the aircraft, which
was carrying 32 passengers and 4 crew members, veered off the runway at around 9:10 a.m. local time during landing and came to a stop at the perimeter fence of the airstrip.
“Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) confirms that an aircraft operating a domestic flight from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) was involved in a runway excursion incident at Mandera Airstrip this morning,” read part of the statement.
All passengers and crew were safely evacuated, with ground support teams responding immediately. No injuries were reported, the authority confirmed.
KAA said it is working with relevant stakeholders to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident, while reaffirming its commitment to safety, security, and operational standards across all its facilities.
The aircraft involved was operating a scheduled domestic service from Nairobi to Mandera.
KAA reiterated that aviation safety remains a top priority as investigations into the runway excursion continue.
Earlier, it was reported that an EBB Air Embraer aircraft, registration 5Y-EBB, flying from Nairobi to Mandera, skidded past the runway when landing and ended up in nearby bushes on Friday, April 24.
Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24 showed that on 24 April 2026, the EBB Air Embraer aircraft (5Y-EBB) was scheduled to depart from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi (NBO) at 6:55 AM.
No arrival or completion status was recorded for that flight at the time of the update.
Photos seen by The Kenya Times showed the EBB Air aircraft (Embraer) resting off the runway in open, bushy terrain.
EBB Air Embraer Aircraft Skids Off Runway
The plane appears to have veered off the landing surface and come to a stop in low vegetation, away from the paved runway.
Light smoke is seen rising from the aircraft’s left side, indicating friction from the impact.
Several people are seen standing nearby, observing the scene, including what it appears as emergency response team.
The cause of the incident is yet to be established.
Ruto Promises to Build Airport in Mandera
President William Ruto unveiled a series of development commitments for Northern Kenya, including plans to construct an airport in Mandera and support community and religious infrastructure projects, as he intensified his engagement with the region.
Speaking on April 18 during a thanksgiving ceremony for Banisa MP Ahmed Hassan in Mandera County, the President reaffirmed his government’s focus on fast-tracking development in areas long considered marginalized.
He stressed that Northern Kenya would be fully included in the country’s transformation agenda, assuring residents that they would not be left behind.
Ruto said Mandera is set to get an airport as part of efforts to strengthen connectivity and enhance integration with other parts of the country.
“Just like other parts of the country, Mandera will have an airport. We will walk this journey together with Banisa, Northern Kenya, and the whole country,” he said.
Plane Veering off Runway
This comes a month later after a plane incident involving a Safarilink Aviation flight at Wilson Airport.
On March 20, Safarilink confirmed that Flight 090, operated by ALS Limited on its behalf from Kisumu to Wilson Airport, was involved in a runway excursion upon landing at 8:55 PM.
The airline added that all 34 passengers and five crew members on board were safe, with no serious injuries reported.
Safarilink stated that emergency response teams quickly responded to the situation, and all passengers and crew were safely evacuated.
The airline said that it had launched a full investigation in coordination with aviation authorities to determine the cause of the incident.
https://thekenyatimes.com/breaking-news/embraer-aircraft-veers-off-runway-on-mandera-nairobi-flight/
Two survive emergency aircraft landing near Chanute after engine failure
Stacie Strader
The Brief
- Two people survived an emergency aircraft landing near Chanute Municipal Airport after their small plane experienced engine failure Thursday afternoon
- The pilot deployed an emergency parachute system to bring the aircraft down safely in a field, but strong winds dragged the plane across Highway 169
- A passing motorist used his truck to help slow the aircraft, allowing both occupants to exit safely before the unmanned plane was pulled into a hedge row
CHANUTE, Kan. — Two people survived after their small
aircraft experienced engine failure and made an emergency landing in a field near Chanute Municipal Airport on Thursday afternoon.
According to Neosho County Undersheriff Tyler Seibel, emergency crews responded to the scene at 2:48 p.m. after the pilot deployed an emergency parachute system to bring the aircraft down safely. Both the pilot and passenger were transported to a local hospital and are expected to recover fully from the incident.
The aircraft was traveling to the Chanute Municipal Airport due to engine failure. Fighting against headwinds, the pilot realized the plane would not reach the runway and turned north to attempt an emergency landing in an open field.
While the emergency parachute system successfully brought the aircraft down, strong winds caught the parachute after landing and began dragging both the plane and its occupants across the ground. The situation became more dangerous as the aircraft was pulled toward Highway 169.
A passing motorist witnessed the emergency and acted quickly to help. The Good Samaritan used his truck to slow down the aircraft long enough for both occupants to safely exit before the plane continued being dragged by the parachute.
The unmanned aircraft was ultimately pulled across Highway 169 by the parachute and came to rest in a hedge row on the opposite side of the road.
The Kansas Department of Transportation confirmed the incident occurred near the highway and issued a traffic advisory around 3:46 p.m., warning drivers to exercise caution between Douglas Road and K-39 as emergency vehicles investigated the scene.
"Please slow down and use extra caution. It is unknown how long the emergency responders will be on scene," KDOT Southeast Kansas stated.
Highway 169 serves as a major north-south route through southeastern Kansas.
https://www.koamnewsnow.com/news/auto-accident/two-survive-emergency-aircraft-landing-near-chanute-after-engine-failure/article_c697cfba-eb42-484d-833e-a20f8f377586.html
Plane crash lands at Lanett airport
by Colin
CNAW2News.com is learning of a crash landing involving
a small plane at Lanett Regional Airport.
The crash landing occurred around 6:12 p.m. central standard time on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
According to FlightAware data, the plane — a Piper Cherokee (piston-single) — took off from Destin Executive Airport at 4:01 p.m. central standard time and flew for 182 miles before crash landing.
The plane has four seats inside, and is owned by Wise Aviation Solutions LLC.
Sources say all occupants were OK.
At the time of our report, the airport has not issued a statement.
Communication Failures Preceded Deadly Crash at LaGuardia, N.T.S.B. Says
The report focuses on the lack of transponders in the fire trucks, which investigators suggested could have allowed an automatic warning system to alert the controller of an imminent collision.
By Karoun Demirjian and Patrick McGeehan
LaGuardia Airport’s failure to put communication transponders on emergency vehicles played a role in a fatal runway collision between an Air Canada passenger jet and an airport fire truck, according to a preliminary report the National Transportation Safety Board issued on Thursday.
The air traffic controller who allowed the fire truck to cross the runway even as the jet was approaching for a landing on March 22 had been juggling air and ground traffic leading up to the collision, the report says. And it details how the firefighters driving that truck, the lead vehicle in a convoy responding to an issue with another plane, failed to immediately understand that instructions they heard over the control tower frequency radio to “stop, stop, stop” were meant for them.
But the report focuses in particular on the lack of transponders in the emergency vehicles, which investigators suggested could have allowed an automatic warning system to alert the controller that the plane and the vehicles were on a potential crash course.
Without the transponders, the “system could not uniquely identify each of the seven responding vehicles or reliably determine their positions, or tracks,” investigators wrote in the report. “As a result, the system was unable to correlate the track of the airplane with the track of Truck 1” — the truck that was struck by the plane. Thus, the report added, the system “did not predict a potential conflict with the landing airplane.”
The Federal Aviation Administration recommended last year that airports outfit their emergency vehicles with such technology to avoid close calls. On Thursday, before the report was released, Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, told reporters that the agency would wait to see the report before making any changes. The Port Authority operates the three major airports in the New York area, including LaGuardia.
The 15-page report offers the most comprehensive presentation the N.T.S.B. has issued detailing the factors that led to the March 22 collision, but it is still preliminary, and the board has yet to reach a conclusion about what caused the accident. Similar investigations usually take about a year.
Still, the report did answer some key questions about the first deadly accident at LaGuardia in more than three decades. That included what role air traffic controllers played that night and what the people in the fire truck heard before the collision. The accident killed both pilots of Air Canada Flight 8646 and sent 39 passengers, as well as the two firefighters in the truck, to hospitals.
The report details how the convoy of emergency vehicles, which was responding to a separate incident involving a United Airlines plane, made multiple attempts to contact the air traffic control tower to seek permission to cross the runway. The attempts began more than 90 seconds before the collision.
Truck 1 had not been the intended lead vehicle in the convoy. Originally, a tool truck that went by the call sign Truck 7 was in front. But Truck 7’s first attempt to reach the tower was blocked by other radio communications. After a second attempt, its drivers switched places with Truck 1, which took over the lead position and, with it, responsibility for making contact with air traffic control.
In the tower, two controllers were on duty, as is standard for the overnight shift at LaGuardia. But according to the report, in the minutes leading up to the collision, only one controller was managing both the airplanes and the ground vehicles. The second controller had been helping the United Airlines plane find its way back to a gate.
About 20 seconds before the collision, according to the report, Truck 1 got permission from air traffic control to cross Runway 4, along with the rest of the convoy. At that moment, the Air Canada jet was in the final seconds of its descent toward the runway and only 130 feet above the ground, according to the N.T.S.B.’s report.
Seconds after that, the controller began urgently calling on the fire truck to “Stop, Truck 1, stop!” But the truck did not stop. According to the report, it accelerated.
Farther back in the convoy, the driver of Truck 7 — the tool truck that was originally intended to be the lead vehicle — heard the controller’s command. Seconds later, she saw the oncoming plane and called “stop, stop, stop” to the drivers of Truck 1, according to the report. There are no recordings of the communications between the emergency vehicles, investigators said.
The fire truck’s turret operator recalled hearing an order to “stop, stop, stop” on the tower frequency, but did not initially realize that it was intended for his vehicle, according to interviews conducted by investigators. It clicked when he heard “Truck 1, stop stop stop,” but at that point, the vehicle had already entered the runway.
The report said that in the moments before the crash, the fire truck turned left — away from the oncoming plane. But it was not enough to avoid impact.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/nyregion/laguardia-crash-ntsb-report.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
Corrosion in plane's engine components led to deadly 2024 crash on I-75 in Collier County
Tyler Watkins and Kendall Brandt
NAPLES, Fla. —
The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on a deadly 2024 plane crash in Collier County that killed pilots Edward Murphy and Ian Frederick Hofmann.
On Feb. 9, 2024, a Bombardier INC CL-600-2B16 business jet crashed into a retaining wall near Interstate 75.
According to the NTSB report, corrosion inside the engine
components restricted the movement of airflow-control parts, caused the engines to operate in the wrong configuration, and led to stalling when power was reduced for landing. Chemical tests showed salt-related elements.
Corrosion accumulated due to the plane being primarily based at airports near the ocean. The NTSB said the previous owner had it based in Barbados, and the following operator was based in Fort Lauderdale.
Engine oil warnings popped up when the plane was less than 1,000 feet in the air, and approximately 23 seconds later, the crew announced to an air traffic control tower that the plane had lost both engines.
Officials said the engines entered "sub-idle rotating compressor stalls," meaning airflow broke down inside the engines, leading to a loss of thrust.
The plane was unable to reach the Naples Airport runway, and the crew attempted to make an emergency landing on the highway.
Documents state the plane's right wing hit a highway sign before the plane veered right and traveled off the highway. The plane hit a nearby concrete sound barrier wall before bursting into flames.
According to the NTSB, the cabin attendant and two passengers were able to exit through the baggage compartment at the back of the plane. Pilots Murphy and Hofman died.
The NTSB said four people reported having minor injuries in the crash, one of whom was a ground occupant.
There were early indicators of the corrosion problem; however, the issue was not fully diagnosed, the NTSB said.
Twenty-five days before the crash, the engines struggled to start (had hung engine starts), which the engine manufacturer said can be a sign of corrosion buildup.
Mechanics followed a step-by-step troubleshooting chart, and a key test known as Maintenance Practice 68, a pressure check of the variable geometry system, could have detected the corrosion.
However, that test was near the end of the checklist. Mechanics stopped troubleshooting early since the engines started normally again. According to the NTSB, the procedure allows this.
The plane returned to service and flew 33 uneventful flights over the next 25 days and accrued 57 hours of flight before the crash.
As a result of the crash investigation, the engine manufacturer published an updated version of the troubleshooting chart to place variable geometry system testing higher on its checklist so future tests are more likely to catch this problem early on. New inspections for corrosion and periodic checks for engines in salt environments were also introduced.
Investigators ruled out fuel contamination (the fuel was normal for Jet A), mechanical engine breakage and flameout or fuel cutoff.
https://www.gulfcoastnewsnow.com/article/plane-crash-ntsb-report-deadly-2024-i-75-naples/71111336
NTSB Prelim: Lancair IV
The Engine Started Running Rough, Shook Violently, Made Loud Noises, And Then Suffered A Complete Loss Of Power
Location: Camden, NC Accident Number: CEN26LA162
Date & Time: April 4, 2026, 11:55 Local Registration: N94PT
Aircraft: Lancair IV Injuries: 2 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Public aircraft
On April 04, 2026, 1155 local, a Lancair IV, N94PT, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in a forced landing on Scotland Road, Camden, North Carolina. The pilot and passenger on board sustained no injuries. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
The airplane departed from Hampton Roads Airport, PVG, Chesapeake, Virginia, and was enroute to Currituck County Airport, ONX, in Maple, North Carolina. The pilot stated that about 20 minutes into the flight the engine experienced a slight decrease in power. The pilot attributed this to the throttle ‘creeping’ back, as he had experienced this issue with the engine before. After returning to the previous power setting, the power decreased again. While increasing the throttle, the engine started running rough, shook violently, made loud noises, and then suffered a complete loss of power. The pilot located a road and initiated an emergency landing. The airplane landed with the landing gear in the retracted position, which resulted in damage to the lower fuselage. The engine exhaust and propeller were damaged as well.
The airplane and engine have been relocated to a secure location for further examination.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
Today in History
32 Years ago today: On 24 April 1994 A South Pacific Airmotive Douglas DC-3 crashed into the water shortly after takeoff from Sydney-Kingsford Smith Airport, NSW, Australia; all 25 occupants survived the accident.
| Date: | Sunday 24 April 1994 |
| Time: | 09:10 |
| Type: | Douglas C-47A-20-DK (DC-3) |
| Owner/operator: | South Pacific Airmotive |
| Registration: | VH-EDC |
| MSN: | 12874 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1944 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 40195 hours |
| Engine model: | P&W R-1830-92 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 25 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 0,1 km S off Sydney-Kingsford Smith International Airport, NSW (SYD) - Australia |
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Sydney-Kingsford Smith International Airport, NSW (SYD/YSSY) |
| Destination airport: | Lord Howe Island Airport, NSW (LDH/YLHI) |
| Investigating agency: | BASI |
| Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:
A South Pacific Airmotive Douglas DC-3 crashed into the water shortly after takeoff from Sydney-Kingsford Smith Airport, NSW, Australia; all 25 occupants survived the accident.
The DC-3 aircraft VH-EDC had been chartered to convey college students and their band equipment from Sydney (SYD) to Norfolk Island Airport (NLK) to participate in Anzac Day celebrations on the island. The aircraft was to proceed from Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport to Norfolk Island, with an intermediate landing at Lord Howe Island Airport, NSW (LDH) to refuel. The flight was to be conducted in accordance with IFR procedures. The aircraft, which was carrying 21 passengers, was crewed by two pilots, a supernumerary pilot and a flight attendant. Preparations for departure were completed shortly before 09:00, and the aircraft was cleared to taxi for runway 16 via taxiway Bravo Three. The co-pilot was the handling pilot for the departure. The aircraft was cleared for takeoff at 09:07:53. All engine indications were normal during the takeoff roll and the aircraft was flown off the runway at 81 kts. During the initial climb, at approximately 200 ft, with flaps up and the landing gear retracting, the crew heard a series of popping sounds above the engine noise. Almost immediately, the aircraft began to yaw left and at 09:09:04 the pilot in command advised the Tower that the aircraft had a problem. The co-pilot determined that the left engine was malfunctioning. The aircraft speed at this time had increased to at least 100 kts. The pilot in command, having verified that the left engine was malfunctioning, closed the left throttle and initiated propeller feathering action. During this period, full power (48 inches Hg and 2,700 RPM) was maintained on the right engine. However, the airspeed began to decay. The co-pilot reported that he had attempted to maintain 81 KIAS but was unable to do so. The aircraft diverged to the left of the runway centreline. Almost full right aileron had been used to control the aircraft. The copilot reported that he had full right rudder or near full right rudder applied. When he first became aware of the engine malfunction, the pilot in command assessed that, although a landing back on the runway may have been possible, the aircraft was capable of climbing safely on one engine. However, when he determined that the aircraft was not climbing, and that the airspeed had reduced below 81 kts, the pilot in command took control, and at 09:09:38 advised the Tower that he was ditching the aircraft. He manoeuvred the aircraft as close as possible to the southern end of the partially constructed runway 16L. The aircraft was ditched approximately 46 seconds after the pilot in command first advised the Tower of the problem. The four crew and 21 passengers successfully evacuated the aircraft before it sank. They were taken on board pleasure craft and transferred to shore.
The investigation found that the circumstances of the accident were consistent with the left engine having suffered a substantial power loss when an inlet valve stuck in the open position. The inability of the handling pilot (co-pilot) to obtain optimum asymmetric performance from the aircraft was the culminating factor in a combination of local and organisational factors that led to this accident. Contributing factors included the overweight condition of the aircraft, an engine overhaul or maintenance error, non-adherence to operating procedures and lack of skill of the handling pilot. Organisational factors relating to the company included: 1) inadequate communications between South Pacific Airmotive Pty Ltd who owned and operated the DC-3 and were based at Camden, NSW and the AOC holder, Groupair, who were based at Moorabbin, Vic.; 2) inadequate maintenance management; 3) poor operational procedures; and 4) inadequate training. Organisational factors relating to the regulator included: 1) inadequate communications between Civil Aviation Authority offices, and between the Civil Aviation Authority and Groupair/South Pacific Airmotive; 2) poor operational and airworthiness control procedures; 3) inadequate control and monitoring of South Pacific Airmotive; 4) inadequate regulation; and 5) poor training of staff.
