2006 Kenyan Air Force Harbin Y-12 crash

2006 Kenyan Air Force Harbin Y-12 crash
Kenya Air Force Flight I-32
An Eritrean Air Force Y-12, similar to the aircraft involved
Accident
Date10 April 2006 (2006-04-10)
SummaryControlled flight into terrain in bad weather
SiteMount Marsabit, Kenya
2°18′47″N 38°01′14″E / 2.31306°N 38.02056°E / 2.31306; 38.02056
Aircraft
Aircraft typeHarbin Y-12 II
Operator Kenya Air Force
Registration132
Flight originMoi Air Base
DestinationMarsabit airstrip
Occupants17
Passengers13
Crew4
Fatalities14
Injuries3
Survivors3

On 10 April 2006, a Kenya Air Force Harbin Y-12 II operating as Flight I-32, flying from Nairobi to Marsabit, Kenya, crashed into Mount Marsabit in bad weather as it was approaching Marsabit airstrip a second time after aborting its first attempt, killing 14 of the 17 occupants on board, including a number of politicians. The flight to the region was carrying a peace delegation meant to mediate regional feuds, which were exacerbated by a food crisis. In the aftermath of the accident, multiple politicians expressed their condolences, with three days of national mourning declared. The crash was the deadliest aviation accident in Kenya since the crash of a Swearingen Metroliner in July 2003, killing all 14 occupants on board, and the first involving government officials since the crash of a Grumman Gulfstream I in January 2003.

An investigation led by the Kenyan Air Force and representatives of the Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation concluded that poor visibility and bad weather led to the aircraft crashing into the volcano. However, a report by The Standard alleged that the pilot-in-command was intoxicated, thus unfit to fly, with another report by The Daily Nation raising nationwide safety issues involving airstrips, including the one where the aircraft was due to land, finding that previous safety recommendations issued to improve airstrips had largely been unimplemented.