FLIGHT FINDINGSAVIATION OCCURRENCE MAP
Back to map

Mombasa Air Safari L-410 crash

22 Aug 2012 · Ngerende Airstrip, in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Let L-410 Turbolet · Pilot error and mechanical failure in one of the engines

From Ngerende Airstrip, Kenya to an unrecorded destination

Report a problem

Event

Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
Event fatalities
4 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
Occupants
Unknown
Survivors
9
InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
6
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
Charter & commuter

Let L-410 Turbolet

Aircraft type
Let L-410
Category
Airplane · from aircraft type
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
5Y-UVP
Onboard fatalities
4
Route
From Ngerende Airstrip, KenyaTo not recorded

Cause areas

  • Aircraft › Aircraft power plant
  • Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware
  • Organizational issues › Support/oversight/monitoring
  • Organizational issues › Management

From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.

Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.

From the Wikipedia article

The Mombasa Air Safari L-410 crash occurred on 22 August 2012 when an aircraft carrying twelve tourists from Ngerende Airstrip, Kenya, crashed into the ground. Four people on board were killed: the two pilots and two German tourists.

Accident

The aircraft had taken off from Moi International Airport, Mombasa (HKMO), with a flight plan to Ukunda, then to Amboseli airstrip, then heading to Ngerende airstrip, Mara North, Olkiombo (HKOK), Mara North, Ukunda Airport (HKUK) and finally back to Mombasa. After the first leg to Amboseli airstrip, it landed at Ngerende airstrip at 12:11, disembarking 6 passengers. The aircraft then took off from Ngerende airstrip with 13 souls on board, 2 crew and 11 passengers, after a brief stop.

The aircraft turned left and struck the terrain 310 metres from the end of runway 28.

The two pilots and two passengers died. Three passengers suffered serious injuries. The other six passengers suffered minor injuries.

It appeared that the Fuel Control Unit of engine 2 was contaminated. The prop was feathered.

Investigation and cause

Investigation

The investigation concluded that, as the probable cause, the following factors contributed:

The LH engine was probably not developing power at the time of impact

The LH engine propeller was probably feathered at the time of impact

Both the CVR and the FDR were unserviceable at the time of the accident

AAID could not determine the origin of the contaminant found in the FCU of the LH engine

Insufficient oversight was exercised over the operator

High turnover of the operator's personnel

Translated into English with AI assistance from the Spanish Wikipedia article “Accidente del L-410 de Mombasa Air Safari” (revision 173787947, retrieved 2026-09-19) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out; the translation may contain errors, and long articles were cut to their first 700 words. Read the article

Sources

Spanish Wikipedia article: Accidente del L-410 de Mombasa Air Safari
Article
Accidente del L-410 de Mombasa Air Safari
Translation
Into English with AI assistance; names of linked operators and aircraft types from Wikidata. It may contain errors.
Revision
173787947 · 2026-06-04 · retrieved 2026-09-19
Wikidata
Q5656085
Licence
Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
Record
es Wikipedia article "Accidente del L-410 de Mombasa Air Safari" (page 5397803, revision 173787947), translated into English with AI assistance
Date
Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country
Wikipedia infobox: site
Map position
Wikipedia article coordinates
Aircraft, operator and route
Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
Operation
Reviewed correction (2026-09-26): A small safari operator flying tourists around a circuit of bush airstrips: a tour and commuter flight by a small operator. The article: "an aircraft carrying twelve tourists from Ngerende Airstrip, Kenya, crashed into the ground"
Fatalities
Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
Ground fatalities
not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
Summary
Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
  • Wikipedia · Facts from the Spanish Wikipedia article's infobox, translated into English with AI assistance, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.