Four dead in Nairobi plane crash

Crash claims all four passengers including crew

A cargo plane crashed into a commercial building in Nairobi shortly after taking off from city's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on 2 July.

The Kenyan Airports Authority (KAA) confirmed that all four crew members on board, including a pilot and his assistant, were killed in the crash which took place in the Utawala estate on the outskirts of the capital.

The Fokker 50 cargo aircraft crashed into a commercial building at around 04.00, a time when the building was empty. Preliminary investigations suggest that the plane was flying low after take-off and hit an electric post before crashing into the two-storey building.

Police said the plane was transporting the mild stimulant known as khat to the Somali capital Mogadishu. Classified as a drug of abuse by the World Health Organisation (WHO) since 1980, khat is native to the Horn of Africa and chewing the plant is a custom that goes back thousands of years in the region.