A safari plane carrying 30 people was forced to make an emergency landing after striking and killing a zebra during take-off in Tanzania. The Sindbard Air aircraft was carrying 26 passengers and four crew from Seronera to Zanzibar when it hit the animal on the runway in the Serengeti National Park at around 11.30am local time on Sunday, according to Aviation Herald.
Aircraft diverted after collision
The aircraft was a 1990-built Embraer EMB-120ER Brasilia, registered 5H-HLL, Aviation Safety Network records show. The crew diverted towards Kilimanjaro International Airport after the collision but were unable to lower the aircraft’s main landing gear.
The Embraer EMB-120 was eventually forced to land with its main gear up on runway 09 at Kilimanjaro. Dramatic footage showed smoke coming from the aircraft as its underside scraped along the runway during the landing.
All onboard unharmed
Emergency crews rushed to the plane after it came to a stop, with all 26 passengers and four crew members able to get off safely. All of the people onboard were unharmed, while the aircraft suffered substantial damage, Aviation Herald reported. The flight had been due to travel from Seronera Airstrip in the Serengeti National Park to Zanzibar.
Tanzanian aviation authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, while operations at Kilimanjaro International Airport were temporarily suspended following the emergency landing. It has not yet been officially confirmed whether the collision with the zebra directly caused the landing gear problem.
Serengeti airstrip context
Seronera Airstrip is one of the main airstrips serving the Serengeti National Park and handles local flights carrying visitors to and from the reserve. Around 500,000 tourists visit the Serengeti each year.
