A Cessna Citation XLS air-ambulance plunged into the densely populated Mwihoko neighbourhood north-east of Nairobi on Thursday, leaving six people dead and two seriously injured, Kenyan officials said.
The twin-engine jet, operated by AMREF Flying Doctors, departed Wilson Airport at 2:17 p.m. local time (11:17 GMT) en route to Hargeisa in Somaliland. According to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, radio contact was lost within minutes of take-off.
Kiambu County Commissioner Henry Wafula told reporters that all four people on board—including the pilot and two medical crew—were killed on impact. The aircraft then slammed into a single-storey home, fatally injuring two residents and leaving two others in critical condition.
Rescue teams from the Kenya Red Cross and county emergency services spent hours sifting through flaming wreckage and debris. “So far we have retrieved four bodies from the scene,” a Red Cross responder said earlier in the operation.
AMREF Flying Doctors confirmed the crash and said it is cooperating with aviation investigators to determine the cause. Local police indicated the wreckage would be moved to a secure facility for forensic examination.
Light-aircraft accidents are not uncommon in East Africa: in April 2024 a military helicopter crash claimed the life of Kenya’s defence chief and nine colleagues shortly after departure from the same airport.
