The plane that crashed in western Kenya on Friday, killing new Labor minister Ahmed Khalif and two pilots was too heavy, according to the Kenyan government.
Four other government ministers and a Parliament Member were injured in the accident in the western town of Busia. Officials said the aircraft struck a pothole on the runway, hit a pylon and crashed into a nearby house.
Kenyan Transport Minister John Michuki said the Gulfstream I twin-propeller plane weighed 16 tons and was taking off from an airstrip designed for aircraft weighing less than 5.7 tons. "That aircraft was too big for the airstrip," Michuki said. "We will investigate why the plane was allowed to land there."
Meanwhile, the license of the company that operated the aircraft has been suspended pending an investigation, according to the BBC.
Khalif and his colleagues had been visiting Busia in the framework of celebrations for the election victory late last year of the National Rainbow Coalition. (Albawaba.com)
