Plane overruns Mandera airstrip runway, crashes into vegetation

by Timothy CerulloFriday April 24, 2026

A routine flight on the Mandera-Nairobi route ended in a frightening runway incident on Friday morning after a plane lost control and ploughed into a nearby thicket at the Mandera Airstrip, jolting passengers and crew.

Preliminary reports indicate that everyone on board was safely evacuated after the crash.

Emergency response teams stationed at the airstrip moved swiftly to extract passengers who had been trapped in the wreckage before the area was secured.

Additional reports said the aircraft veered off the runway just after touching down at the Mandera Airstrip in Mandera County after arriving from Nairobi.

The cause of the loss of control has not yet been determined, but investigators have already opened a probe to establish whether a mechanical problem or weather conditions may have played a role.

Security agencies later cordoned off the affected stretch of the runway to allow safety checks and the recovery operation to proceed.

Images obtained by Kenyans.co.ke showed the aircraft with visible damage, particularly at the front and on the wings, while officers were seen assisting people inside the wreckage.

The airstrip was temporarily thrown into disruption as aviation officials worked to restore safe operations for subsequent flights.

The incident adds to a string of recent aviation scares reported in the country in recent weeks. It comes barely a month after another passenger aircraft veered off the runway at Wilson Airport in Nairobi.

That plane had been arriving from Kisumu on March 20, 2026, when it skidded off the runway during landing in what authorities described as a runway excursion.

Officials said there were 39 people aboard at the time, including 34 passengers and five crew members.

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) said the aircraft left the runway at about 8:55 pm that night, but confirmed that no injuries were reported.