Safarilink plane hits wildebeest as it lands at Maasai Mara

A Safarilink aircraft yesterday hit wildebeest while landing at Kichwa Tembo airstrip at the Maasai Mara National Reserve on Friday.

"We have been informed that our Dash 8 aircraft registered as 5Y-SLM has been involved in an incident whilst landing," a statement from Safarilink management team said. 

The management team said the aircraft was disabled following the accident.

“We are thankful to confirm all passengers and crew on board the aircraft are safe and there are no injuries or fatalities,” it said.

However, aircraft engineers and company staff were dispatched on Friday to the site to further assess the situation.

The company extended its appreciation to its friends on the ground at Kichwa Tembo for all their assistance and cooperation they accorded the airliner.

Scores of wildlife were killed during the accident.

The company offers daily flights from Wilson Airport to the beach, bush and business destinations in Kenya, Tanzania & Zanzibar.

Tourism players have been projecting a boost in the industry following early migration of wildebeests from the Serengeti National Reserve in Tanzania to Maasai Mara in Narok, Kenya.

Over two million wildebeest often migrate between Kenya and Tanzania.

They throng Kenya’s Maasai Mara in large numbers in search of food and water.

The wildebeest join half a million gazelle and 200,000 zebra in the perilous trek from the Serengeti Park in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara reserve every year.