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| Date: | Thursday 5 June 2025 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX |
| Owner/operator: | Scenic Air Safaris |
| Registration: | 5Y-SXI |
| MSN: | 208B5482 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2018 |
| Engine model: | PWC PT6A-140 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 9 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Retiti Airstrip -
 Kenya
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Retiti Airstrip |
| Segera Airstrip, Isiolo County | |
| Investigating agency: | AAID Kenya |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX crashed on takeoff from Retiti Airstrip in Kenya.
The left-hand wing was severed and a pilot and eight passenger there are safe and plane seriously damage left wings.
The aircraft operated on a charter service from Nairobi-Wilson Airport to Weaver’s Airstrip (Maasai Mara), Retiti Airstrip, and Segera Airstrip.
The landing at Reteti was described as slightly rough on approach, but the PIC managed a
successful touchdown on Runway 36. After disembarkation, the tourists proceeded to visit the elephant sanctuary. The pilot scheduled the next departure for 16:00 LT, intending to drop the passengers at Segera for an overnight stay before continuing onward to Nairobi.
After boarding passengers at Reteti Airstrip, the pilot carried out a normal engine start-up procedure. At the time, the aircraft had approximately 890 lbs of fuel remaining. The takeoff roll commenced on runway 18, with power set at 96.4% Ng.
Approximately 170 meters from the runway threshold, the pilot reported hearing a loud bang.
Immediately thereafter, the aircraft began veering to the left. Despite the application of full right rudder input, the aircraft remained unresponsive and continued off the runway into surrounding vegetation.
The aircraft's wing, nose, and vertical stabilizer struck trees and shrubs during the excursion. The aircraft came to a stop approximately 500 meters from the point where the pilot initially heard the bang.
Retiti Airstrip is an unpaved airstrip, about 800 m long, at an elevation of about 2625 feet.
One of the passengers recounted: "I was one if the eight passengers on this flight. Here is what I remember: We took off without a problem, a typical small airplane flight. As soon as we touched down at Retiti, we were violently moved left, then right, then right again, etc. We were not bouncing off the runway or hit the runway too hard, there was violent sideways motion. I thought we were bouncing off rocks. We finally slowed down, stopped and disembarked. This should have been our foreshadowing of what was ahead, but it wasn’t to us or evidently the pilot. We then reboarded the plane, strapped ourselves in, and the pilot swiftly took off. As we sped up, that same sideways lateral shifting of the aircraft took place. We were going very fast, I imagine take-off speed. It was very scary but remember thinking “we’ll be airborne any second.” Unfortunately that did not happen. I assume what I thought were rocks on the runway were ravines or large gullies. Those gullies bounced us around at takeoff speed and one of the wheels went into a large ravine per the pilot. Then there was a very violent spin. With the wheel stuck in this ravine at this high speed the aircraft did a violent U-turn. I distinctly seeing above the seat in front of me daylight pouring into the cabin (later I realized that was the wing sheared off) and saying to myself “this is bad.” The next thing was while still strapped in, my head was in my wife’s lap. I didn’t understand that because I was still in my seat. Evidently the seat was ripped off its brackets or the bolts sheared off and the seat was in the aisle and the seat back broke with the back of the seat now in the flat horizontal position. That’s why I flew into my wife, I was no longer strapped tight against the seat back. We desperately tried to evacuate the plane because we smelled aviation fuel, but there was no path to take because my seat was in the aisle. I believe I helped my wife over the seats and then myself which was difficult both because of the tight quarters and there was shattered plexiglass all over from the broken windows inside of the plane. By that time the pilot had an emergency exit open at the back bench seat where Jim was sitting. Jim had told me that he couldn’t find the male (or female) parts of the seat belts and he was gripping on to the belts the best he could. There was a cooler on the bench seat that was not strapped down that caused some of Jim’s injuries. Further, and rather upsetting was he said that tried to open the regular door (with the built in stairs) but it was inoperable from the inside. The pilot repeatedly said “I told them to fix that ravine.” I returned later into the aircraft when everything and everyone calmed down (a little) to gather a few things that went flying. That door that Jim tried to open was opened apparently by someone from the outside and I gained access through that. That night at the Lodge my brother Ross befriended the pilot. The pilot told him that he has flown into that airstrip 100’s of times. He knew of that deep ravine and told them to repair it several times. He also said that they previously received pictures from the Sanctuary, but “they can easily just take pictures of the just the good areas.” The next morning we learned of another airstrip only 20 minutes away. We were taken there where there was another similar airplane. This was still a dirt runway but it was smooth, long and wide with no jungle on either side."
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
AAID Kenya
Location
Media:
Cessna Caravan C208B reg. 5Y-SXI operated by Scenic Air Safaris had a prang at Retiti Airstrip in Kenya on 5th June. All 9 occupants evacuated safelyhttps://t.co/pZ6wuLK6JK pic.twitter.com/hPYKhA5Av4
— The Kenyan Aviator (@kenyanaviator) June 8, 2025
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Jun-2025 17:38 | ASN | Added |
| 05-Jun-2025 18:29 | ASN | Updated |
| 05-Jun-2025 20:36 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Operator, Source, ] |
| 06-Jun-2025 11:57 | ASN | Updated [Total occupants, Narrative, ] |
| 08-Jun-2025 16:32 | Aerossurance | Updated [Nature, Source, Embed code, ] |
| 11-Jun-2025 13:10 | Wjejwns | Updated [Time, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 13-Jun-2025 12:24 | Ei3idjruehd | Updated [Time, ] |
| 11-Jul-2025 18:39 | ASN | Updated [Destination airport, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
| 12-Jul-2025 17:21 | Mitchell | Updated [Source, ] |
| 12-Jul-2025 17:26 | ASN | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
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