Military jet crashes in Mwanza, pilot injured

Written by PIUS RUGONZIBWA in Mwanza

THE military aircraft, (top left) moments before take-off, the accident was caused by a bird that was sucked in one of the engines. The lone pilot escaped with burns at Mwanza Airport on Friday morning. (Photos courtesy of TPDF)

TANZANIA People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) Major Peter Lyamunda cheated death on Friday after a fighter jet he was piloting crashed as it was taking off at the Mwanza Airport on Friday.

Mwanza Airport Manager, Ms Easter Madale, confirmed the incident, saying the accident occurred at around 9.40 am. The pilot reportedly suffered burns and was rushed to hospital for treatment.

The accident created panic to both Mwanza city residents and passengers who were waiting for their flights at the airport. However, Ms Madale said that the accident didn’t disrupt travel arrangements, as the situation was immediately contained by airport fire fighters.

Ms Madale was not ready to go into details on the accident, saying it was purely a sensitive matter handled by the military authorities, but pointed out that it was the first accident involving an aircraft for the last four years.

“This is the first accident at this airport since 2010… I can not disclose anything further as the matter was still under investigation by the relevant authorities.

But what I know our fire fighters arrived timely at the scene and helped to contain the situation,” she said. Meanwhile, TPDF has released a statement, saying the accident occurred after a bird was trapped in one of the engines of the plane.

The statement said the mishap occurred as the aircraft was about to take off and Major Lyamunda was able to eject immediately before the fire engulfed him.

According to the statement, Major Lyamunda was recuperating in hospital. The Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) Mwanza Zonal Manager, Mr Michael Likunama, said he was not in the position to connect the accident with the weather condition on the particular time.

However, he said he would be in a position to state on matters pertaining to the weather condition during the investigation of the accident.

“I just can’t tell whether the accident was weather based or mechanical based, so it is better we wait for the full investigations by the concerned authorities,” he said.

Mwanza Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr Magesa Mulongo, also rushed to the scene as soon as he was notified of the incident