Kenya Plane Hit Trees, Went Down in Poor Visibility

NAIROBI, Kenya --

The plane in which two Kenyan lawmakers were killed this week was flying in poor visibility and hit trees and a house before crashing, the transport ministry said Wednesday.

Roads Minister Kipkalya Kones and Assistant Home Affairs Minister Lorna Laboso were among four people killed in Tuesday's crash in southwestern Kenya. The other victims were the plane's pilot and an aide to Kones.

There were no survivors.

"The aircraft was flying in poor visibility at 9,000 feet above sea level at the time of the accident," the ministry said in a statement. "The aircraft lost height and hit trees and a roof of a house before crashing on the rising terrain."

The plane went down in Narok, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from the capital, Nairobi, according to Kenya's Civil Aviation Authority.

Kones was a five-term lawmaker whose appointment to the Cabinet was part of a power-sharing deal between President Mwai Kibaki and his opponent in a recent presidential election, Raila Odinga. Laboso, a new lawmaker, was among the small number of women elected to Kenya's National Assembly.

In 2006, two assistant Cabinet ministers and two lawmakers were among more than a dozen people who died when a military plane crashed while trying to land during bad weather.

In 2003, a plane carrying four Cabinet ministers crashed in western Kenya, killing one minister and the two pilots.

A public inquiry recommended no more than three Cabinet ministers or senior government officials should travel on the same flight for security reasons.

The report also said many airstrips in the country were poorly maintained and the government did not allocate enough money for repair and maintenance.