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Old 14th Jun 2005, 08:24
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Gunship
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I could not open the link but I pressume you refer to this article makeahughepullup ?

Pretoria - A South African pilot was involved in a bizarre incident in which two planes crashed on a runway in Lokichokio in Northern Kenya. The runway had to be closed for two days to clear the wreckage.

The name of the South African pilot has not been released. Peter Smerdon, spokesperson for the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP), said on Monday the accident happened shortly after 13:00 on Friday when a Hawker-Siddeley 748 cargo plane belonging to a Kenyan airline landed without landing gear.

The Hawker-Siddeley formed part of an air-bridge consisting of several planes from various aid organisations that transported food from Lokichokio to Sudan.

The pilot had no alternative but to perform a belly-landing, and the airport was closed to incoming air traffic because of wreckage strewn on the runway. Flights were directed to other airports.

About an hour later a Hercules L-100 cargo plane belonging to Transafrik arrived at Lokichokio after dropping emergency supplies for the WFP in Sudan.

Transafrik, which is based in Angola, employs several South African and former air force pilots.

When the control tower turned the Hercules away, the pilot informed the crew, including the South African, that they didn't have enough fuel to reroute, but that he would instead attempt to land on a part of the runway that was clear of wreckage.

The pilot set the plane down hard, in the process bending the aircraft's frame.

Smerdon said the Hercules remained in one piece, but the momentum carried it forward into the wreckage of the Hawker-Siddeley.

"Wreckage of both aircraft were then strewn across the whole runway, confounding the clearing up process. Fortunately the fire engine was still at hand after putting out the fire caused by the first crash landing.

"Nobody was injured. Two tractors dragged away the wreckage and the airport was closed for two days."

Smerdon said flights resumed on Monday afternoon "to our relief, since the airport is increasingly used for international flights".
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