The student pilot identified as Mariam Omar who died during training after their plane a Cessna 172 5YNNJ collided mid-air at the Nairobi National Park on March 5, with a safarilink-owned Dash-8 5YSLK passenger aircraft will be laid to rest on March 6, 2024.

The Ninety Nine Fiying School announced that Prayers for the late student Mariam Omar will be held on Wednesday March 6, at 1pm at Masjid Nur in South C, Nairobi.

Burial will be held at Langata Muslim cemetery after prayers.

The 9 am accident also claimed the life of the training pilot, while 44 passengers in the Dash-8 5YSLK plane luckily escaped with minor injuries.

Ninety-Nines Flying School has reveled that investigations were underway to establish what may have caused the accident.

At the time of publication, it was yet to be established who was in control of the training aircraft.

 “Investigations to determine the cause of the accident are being carried out by the relevant authorities. We condole with the families, friends and relatives of the deceased,” the statement read in part.

Meanwhile Safarilink stated that, its plane was heading to Diani with 39 passengers and 5 crew members on board, and experienced a loud bang soon after take-off at Wilson Airport.

“The crew decided to immediately turn back to Nairobi-Wilson Airport for further inspection and assessment and landed safely.”

The local airline, however, says that there was no casualties from its end.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), through the Air Accident Investigation Department (AAID) and the National Police Service, has also commenced investigations to establish the cause of the accident.

“Safety of the public, property and operators remains paramount to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority,” KCAA says.