Silverstone plane crash lands at Eldoret Airport after wheel comes off

A Silverstone aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at Eldoret International Airport after one of its tyres dropped off mid-air.

The plane with only four passengers and five crew landed safely at the airport without the tire and amid heightened emergency services.

Uasin Gishu Police Commander Johnstonne Ipara says all the passengers and crew were evacuated safely from the aircraft immediately it landed at the airport.

One of the left tires dropped off soon after the plane took off from the Lodwar Airstrip and emergency services were immediately activated in Eldoret for the landing.

Ipara said relevant authorities had launched investigations into the incident.

Some of the passengers who looked to be panic said they had been alerted about the emergency landing.

The plane was headed to Nairobi but was forced to land in Eldoret.

Silverstone confirmed the incident in a statement saying that the plane from Lodwar lost the number 3 wheel assembly.

"The captain of the flight decided to divert to Eldoret International Airport in the interests of the continued safety of the passengers and the crew. This was a precautionary action and the aircraft landed safely," the airline's management said.

The airline said it had activated its contingency plans and the customers affected were rebooked and have since landed safely in Nairobi.

This comes a week after a Silverstone airline skidded off the runway of Wilson Airport.

The plane which had 50 passengers, skid off Wilson Airport as it prepared to take off to Lamu.

Images from the scene showed that the Fokker 50 aircraft plunged into a thicket, hitting some trees and breaking part of its wing, before being grounded, tilted to one side.