Fly Zanzibar aircraft makes emergency landing after landing gear failure
What you need to know:
- The Piper Seneca aircraft, registered as 5H-MZB, was on a flight from Dar es Salaam with two pilots on board when the incident occurred at around 1:20 PM.
Zanzibar. A light aircraft operated by Fly Zanzibar made a dramatic emergency landing at Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (AAKIA) on Wednesday afternoon after suffering a mechanical failure that prevented the deployment of its front landing gear.
The Piper Seneca aircraft, registered as 5H-MZB, was on a flight from Dar es Salaam with two pilots on board when the incident occurred at around 1:20 PM.
According to airport officials who spoke to The Citizen, the aircraft was forced to conduct a crash landing on the runway, causing damage to the plane but no injuries to the crew.
Emergency response units were immediately dispatched to the scene, with video footage showing fire and rescue vehicles on standby and fire-retardant foam spread across the runway to reduce fire risk.
"The aircraft experienced a technical malfunction, and the front landing gear could not deploy," said an official familiar with the incident. "We temporarily closed the runway to ensure safety and allow for recovery operations."
The emergency landing caused temporary disruption to airport operations. Flight tracking platform FlightRadar24 showed several incoming flights placed in holding patterns over the Indian Ocean, while others were diverted to alternative airports as the situation unfolded.
The affected aircraft was quickly removed from the runway, and normal airport operations have since resumed. Authorities say an investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the technical failure.
