September 18, 2026 | Kajiado

Two people were killed on Thursday after a light aircraft conducting a routine training flight crashed in the Kibeto area of Kajiado West Constituency, near the Kipeto Wind Power Project.

The victims, a student pilot and a flight instructor, were the only people on board the aircraft operated by the Kenya Aviation Training School.

The aircraft went down in the Kibeto area on September 17, with residents reporting the incident before police and emergency response teams moved to the scene.

Kajiado West Sub-County Police Commander Maurine Jepkemboi confirmed that the two occupants died from injuries sustained in the crash.

Residents respond to crash

The crash prompted an immediate response from residents in the surrounding area, who moved towards the scene after the aircraft came down.

Police officers and emergency personnel later secured the area as recovery operations got underway.

The location of the crash, near the prominent Kipeto Wind Power Project, provided a key reference point for emergency teams responding to the incident.

The accident has since raised concerns among residents and aviation stakeholders as authorities work to establish exactly what happened during the training flight.

Investigation launched

Investigations into the cause of the crash are now underway.

Aviation investigators are expected to examine the aircraft wreckage, flight records, weather conditions and other evidence gathered from the crash site as they reconstruct the final moments of the flight.

Investigators will also seek to establish whether any technical, operational, environmental or other factors contributed to the accident.

At the time of publication, no definitive cause of the crash had been established.

Authorities are expected to release additional information as the investigation progresses.

Training flight ends in tragedy

The fatal accident has cast a shadow over aviation training in the country, turning what was described as a routine instructional flight into a tragedy.

Flight training involves both student pilots and instructors undertaking practical exercises in aircraft under controlled conditions. Investigators will therefore examine the circumstances surrounding the flight before determining what led to the aircraft going down.

The identities of the two victims and further details concerning the aircraft and flight may be released as authorities continue their investigations and notify the victims' families.

For the families, colleagues and friends of the two occupants, Thursday's training flight ended with the loss of two lives, while aviation authorities now face the task of establishing the circumstances surrounding the crash and identifying any safety lessons that may emerge from the investigation.