A Kenya Airforce plane, with passengers on board, has crashed minutes after lift-off in the Rift Valley region.

In a statement issued on Thursday, July 20, Kenya Defence Forces confirmed that the crew and all passengers on board survived. 

The passengers were on their way to Nairobi from an official duty when the chopper developed mechanical challenges and crashed. null

It was reported that the military chopper, identified as a Fennec helicopter, did not take long in the air after lift-off. 

A Kenya Air Force Soldier flies a jet.KDF

“This evening, a Kenya Air Force, Fennec helicopter, while taking off from Chemlingot stadium en route to Nairobi, hit a tree and crashed,” KDF stated. 

The Kenya Defence Forces also assured members of the public that their crew will make it to full recovery since those involved in the accident were receiving adequate medical attention. 

“All passengers disembarked safely and are in stable condition,” the Kenya Defence Forces confirmed in a statement that was sent to newsrooms. null

The investigations will review complex and time-consuming processes that are carried out by a variety of organizations, including government agencies, aircraft manufacturers, and insurance companies.

Oftentimes, the goal of an air crash investigation is to determine the cause of the accident and to make recommendations to prevent similar accidents from happening in the future.

KDF will seek to establish if the crash was a result of human error, which is the most common cause of air crashes. It can include pilot error, crew coordination errors, and passenger interference.

Investigators will also try to establish if the accident was occasioned by mechanical failure which can include problems with the aircraft’s engines, systems, or structure.null

On Thursday, June 24, 2021, ten Kenya Air Force personnel died while 13 others sustained injuries after the aircraft they were traveling in crash-landed in Oltepesi, Kajiado West.

The chopper crashed during a routine training of special forces. While KDF choppers crashes have happened before, most of them did not lead to deaths.