By Frank Kamuntu
Two planes veered off the runway at the same airport in a day of dramatic airside events in Tanzania.
Early on the morning of 28 November, a United Air Zanzibar plane took off from Zanzibar, an archipelago off the coast of Tanzania, with 30 passengers and three crew members on board.
On approach to its destination, Kikoboga Airstrip, the crew reported problems with the aircraft’s landing gear.
Kikoboga serves Mikumi National Park, one of the largest in Tanzania.
The plane was able to land, but the manoeuvre caused the collapse of the main landing gear, and the aircraft careered off the runway. It sustained substantial damage, according to reports, coming to a stop on its nose gear, the underside of the fuselage and both wings.
No injuries were reported. A video shared on social media shows the aftermath of the crash.
Just hours later, Kikoboga was the site of another dramatic incident.
A Sindbard Air Embraer was taking off from Kikoboga en route to Zanzibar when it suffered a nose gear collapse while accelerating. Its right wing smashed into a building before the plane came to a stop. Like the earlier flight, it was carrying 30 passengers and three crew members, with no injuries reported.
“The pilots worked hard in collaboration with officials of the airstrip to ensure that all passengers on board were safe,” Catherine Mbena, Tanzania National Parks senior conservation officer for corporate communications said.
Last month, a Tui plane skidded off the runway onto the grass at Leeds Bradford airport as Storm Babet wreaked havoc across the UK, with heavy rain and wind.
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