Olympic champion escapes death after plane crash lands in Kenya
Former double Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha narrowly survived after a plane he was flying in crash-landed.
The plane – carrying Mr Rudisha, 33, and five others – came down in Kajiado county in south-east Kenya on Saturday.
Mr Rudisha said it was a ‘scary episode’ as after less than 10 minutes in the air the engine of the plane suddenly went quiet.
Photos from the scene show it upside down in a field.
He told Daily Nation: ‘He (the pilot) saw some clear space where he tried to land the plane, but one of its wings hit a tree as the plane started to spin before landing on the rocky field.
‘The pilot did an incredible job to keep the plane afloat and stable for long.’
He explained that the pilot took control of the plane well, navigating above the trees.
He said: ‘He saw some clear space where he tried to land the plane but one of its wings hit a tree as the plane started to spin before landing on the rocky field.’
‘We thank God we all came out alive with some soft tissue injuries that were treated before all were discharged save for one’, as they were evacuated to Makindu Hospital for treatment.
Rudisha, who won gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016, was unharmed. One of the other occupants, Stephen Ole Marai, was being treated in hospital for rib injuries, while others were taken to hospital with minor injuries but later discharged.
Rudisha was returning from the annual Maasai Olympics at Kimana Wildlife Sanctuary in Kajiado county.
Now retired from top-level athletics, he has suggested that he is considering moving into coaching.
He also said is not the first scrape he has survived as he was involved in a car accident on the Nairobi-Kisumu highway in August 2019 when a tyre burst and his SUV collided head on with a bus.
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