Kajiado, Kenya: Two people, a student pilot and a flight instructor, were killed after a Kenya School of Flying light aircraft crashed during a routine training flight in Kipeto, Kajiado West, Kenya, on Friday, 18 September 2026.
The aircraft came down near the Kipeto Wind Power Project in a hilly area southwest of Nairobi, with police saying the two occupants were the only people on board. The student pilot died at the crash site, while the flight instructor was seriously injured and died while being taken to Kajiado County Referral Hospital.
Kajiado West Sub-County Police Commander Maureen Kuto said preliminary information indicated that poor visibility caused by heavy morning mist may have contributed to the accident. She said the pilot attempted an emergency landing after encountering poor visibility, but the aircraft crashed in the hilly terrain before the manoeuvre could be completed.
“There were two souls onboard. One victim succumbed at the scene, while the other was rushed to the hospital by an ambulance and later succumbed to the injuries,” Kuto said.
Kuto added, “The preliminary cause of the aircraft accident is poor visibility that was occasioned by poor visibility in the morning as a result of the mist.” However, this remains a preliminary police assessment and not a confirmed accident finding. Aviation investigators are examining the circumstances of the crash.
The aircraft was operated by the Kenya School of Flying (KSOF), a Kenyan pilot-training organisation headquartered at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, with training locations including Orly Airpark in Kajiado, Malindi and Ukunda. The school’s published fleet includes Cessna 150, Cessna 152, Cessna 172 and Piper PA-34 Seneca aircraft.
The flight was a training sortie, rather than a passenger or commercial service. Later Kenyan reports described it as an advanced training session, with the student pilot reportedly at an advanced stage of training. The aircraft was operating in the Kipeto area, close to the school’s Orly Airpark training base, although the available reports do not establish a specific departure point and destination for the flight.
One of the victims has since been identified in Kenyan media as Alex Oluka, a newly qualified pilot who had been retained by the Kenya School of Flying as a flight instructor. Oluka graduated from the school on 22 August 2026, only 27 days before the crash, after demonstrating strong performance during his training.
According to Tuko, Teso North Member of Parliament Oku Kaunya identified Oluka’s body at Kajiado County Referral Hospital alongside Kenya School of Flying General Manager Martin Kibachio, school official Eng. Elijah Sempele and Isinya DCIO Ezekiel Wanga. The body was subsequently moved to Chiromo Mortuary.
Kaunya described Oluka as the constituency’s pioneer pilot under the National Government Constituencies Development Fund programme. He said:
“Alex graduated last month from the Kenya School of Flying, where he demonstrated exceptional performance and dedication, earning him an opportunity to serve as an instructor.”
Kaunya added that Oluka’s career had been “tragically cut short” at a time when his future held considerable promise. The student pilot has not been reliably identified by name in the official or major Kenyan reports.
The aircraft crashed in open, hilly terrain near the Kipeto Wind Power Project. Images and video from the scene showed the aircraft extensively broken up, with several large sections of the fuselage and other wreckage scattered across the ground. Luggage believed to have belonged to the occupants was also recovered. Police and emergency personnel secured the area while investigators examined the wreckage.
Local resident Duncan Akaranga told Associated Press that the crash occurred close to a school and said the area contained several schools and many students. “We are really shocked because this crash happened next to the school,” he said, adding that the accident could have resulted in a larger loss of life.
Police and aviation safety authorities have begun investigating the crash. Investigators are expected to examine the wreckage, flight information, weather and visibility, the circumstances surrounding the attempted emergency landing and other factors that could have contributed to the accident.
