Tanzanian airline Unity Air Zanzibar had a rough rough flight operations on Tuesday. The small domestic carrier had one of its planes crash while landing at an airstrip serving a national park. Then, another Unity Air propeller-driven aircraft crashed on the same runway six hours later and struck a nearby building. Both planes experienced landing gear failures and skidded off the runway. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured.
Both incidents involved Untiy Air’s service between Zanzibar and Kikoboga Airport within Mikuma National Park, a popular tourist destination. The first crash involved an Embraer EMB120 Brasilia with 30 passengers onboard attempting to land at Kikboga around 3:40 p.m. local time, Simple Flying reports. The Brazilian-built aircraft had its right main landing gear fail on landing. The Embraer skidded beyond the runway and came to rest in a field.
The second crashed involved a different Embraer EMB120 trying to take off from Kikoboga just six hours later. As the plane also carrying 30 passengers was powering down the airstrip, the front landing strut failed. The Embraer plowed along the ground until it crashed into a building and came to a halt.
The video of the aftermath is both startling and hilarious. The footage shared on social media features the first crashed Embraer in the foreground with the second plane peeking between two buildings with one of the structures on fire. The Tanzania National Parks Authority stated that flight operations were able to continue as usual because both planes were clear of the runway. Though, I would be concerned as a passenger if I saw two crashed aircraft just sitting out there before my flight.