Families of three Malindi aircraft crash victims pursue compensation
Debris at the scene where a light aircraft crash landed on the Malindi-Mombasa highway on January 10, 2025.
The families of the three people who died in a plane crash in Malindi on January 10 have begun to seek compensation.
The accident occurred after the light aircraft, a Cessna 172 operated by the Kenya Aeronautical College, crashed and burst into flames in the Kwa Chocha area on the Malindi-Mombasa highway.
The aircraft had just taken off from Malindi International Airport for Nairobi when it developed mechanical problems.
The families told Nation.Africa that the aviation college contacted them through the police after the post-mortem was conducted at Malindi Sub-county Hospital.
Mr Daniel Malingi, the husband of the late Naomi Chitsaka, who was a teacher at Mashamba Primary School, said they had been working on getting the necessary documents to submit to the insurance company before the deadline.
"We have not made much progress because we have been compiling the necessary documents before the March 25 deadline," he said.
He added that they expected to meet with officials from the aviation college after submitting the documents.
Mr Malingi said they were hoping for support from the Kilifi County government in the legal process.
He revealed that they will only take the matter to court if they are not satisfied with the compensation offered.
"The insurance company said they would give us an offer and if we are not satisfied we can challenge them in court," he said.
Mr Emmanuel Ngoka, a relative of the late Kasena Ruwa, a boda boda operator at Kwa Chocha trading centre who was burnt to death, said they were also finalising documents for submission.
The ill-fated Cessna 172, which left Malindi Airport at 2.50 pm, was on a ferry flight to Nairobi with a crew of a captain, an instructor and a student pilot.
The three survived but were injured, treated and released.
Last week, another pilot training took a tragic turn on the afternoon of March 8 when a Kenya School of Flying aircraft crashed near Ikanga.
Last week, another pilot training exercise took a tragic turn on the afternoon of March 8 when a Kenya School of Flying aircraft crashed near Ikanga airstrip in Voi, Taita Taveta County, killing the pilot.
The aircraft, which was also flying from Malindi, attempted to land at Ikanga airstrip but unfortunately crashed about 500 metres from the airstrip.
According to the incident report by the Kenya Airport Police Unit, a flight instructor from the Kenya School of Flying in Malindi had dispatched the ill-fated aircraft, a Cessna 152 registered 5Y-BYQ, piloted by a student.
The student was later identified as 20-year-old Issa Chaka Barua.
Issa, who held a Private Pilot Licence (PPL), was on a cross-country flight to Tsavo and was expected to return to Malindi by 3 pm.