2021 Cessna 208B Crash at Marsabit Hill (5Y-JKN)

Accident Overview and Flight Details On 20 March 2021, a C208B aircraft with registration 5Y-JKN crashed into Marsabit Hill, resulting in the deaths of the two crew members on board. The aircraft was chartered to transport Marsabit County officials to a peacekeeping mission at Illeret, located 156 nautical miles northwest of Marsabit town. At the time of the accident, the aircraft carried 2,200 pounds of fuel. The flight departed Wilson Airport at 08:20 local time (0520Z) and reached the vicinity of Marsabit town around 10:00 local time (0700Z). While attempting to approach the Marsabit airstrip, the aircraft collided with Kofia Mbaya Hill in the Marsabit terrain. ## Impact Sequence and Aftermath The aircraft first struck the terrain with its nose-wheel and main landing gears, leaving parts of the fuselage and an iron box from the lower baggage compartment on the slope. It then ballooned, missed a house, flipped upside down, and impacted the ground again, coming to rest facing the opposite direction. A trail of aircraft parts was left along its path. The nosewheel and its assembly separated and were found 110 meters from the initial impact point, next to the house. No fire occurred after the impact, but all occupants sustained fatal injuries. ## Probable Cause and Contributing Factors The official investigation determined that the probable cause was a continued descent into terrain without forward visibility in thick fog. Contributing factors included the airstrip's location, which is surrounded by high hills, as well as inadequate flight planning and crew resource management.