What happened
On March 20, 2021, a Cessna 208B aircraft, registered as 5Y-JKN, crashed while attempting to land near Marsabit town. The flight was operating as a charter service, intended to transport officials from Marsabit County to Illeret for a peacekeeping mission. The aircraft departed Wilson Airport at 08:20 local time and reached the area near Marsabit around 10:00 local time.
During the approach to the Marsabit airstrip, the aircraft struck Kofia Mbaya Hill. The initial contact involved the nose-wheel and main landing gear, which caused portions of the fuselage and baggage compartment contents to be scattered across the site. Following the first impact, the aircraft bounced into the air, narrowly missing a residential structure, before flipping over and striking the ground. The wreckage left a trail of debris along its path, with the nose-wheel assembly separating from the airframe and coming to rest 110 meters from the primary impact zone. There was no post-crash fire, but both members of the crew sustained fatal injuries.
Findings
The investigation determined that the accident was caused by a continued descent into terrain while operating in thick fog with zero forward visibility. Several contributing factors were noted, including the challenging geography of the airstrip, which is surrounded by high hills, as well as deficiencies in flight planning and crew resource management.