A routine safari flight turned into a dramatic emergency after a Sindbard Air Embraer EMB-120 struck and killed a zebra while taking off from Seronera Airstrip in the heart of Tanzania's Serengeti National Park on October 4. The aircraft, carrying 26 passengers and four crew and bound for Zanzibar, suffered damage to its main landing gear in the collision, forcing the crew to divert roughly 270 kilometers east to Kilimanjaro International Airport instead. As the plane approached Kilimanjaro, the crew discovered the main gear would not extend, leaving them no choice but to prepare the cabin for a gear-up landing on runway 09.

Footage from the scene shows the twin turboprop skidding along the tarmac on its belly, smoke and debris trailing behind it as the aircraft came to a stop. Despite the dramatic touchdown, which left the plane with substantial damage, all 30 people on board walked away unhurt, and Kilimanjaro's runway was briefly closed while crews cleared the wreckage. The incident is now under investigation by Tanzanian aviation authorities, and it highlights a persistent hazard at remote safari airstrips like Seronera, where wildlife roams freely across unfenced runways and collisions with animals remain an ever-present risk for small aircraft operating in and out of the game reserves.