Hazards of flying in Somalia

On Saturday, 2 October 2017, a Penial Air Cessna 208B flight from Mogadishu, Somalia, to Nairobi, Kenya, was interrupted in an unusual manner at the dirt strip in Xuddur, Somalia.

“The aircraft was on a flight from Mogadishu, Somalia to Nairobi-Wilson Airport, Kenya with en route stops at Baidoa, Xuddur, Elberde, and Wajir. 

“The flight between Mogadishu and Baidoa was uneventful. At 11:30 hours, the pilot took off from Baidoa with eight passengers onboard and landed safely at Xuddur at 12:03 hours. At Xuddur, four passengers disembarked with their cargo and the pilot picked four other passengers with their cargo. As the pilot was preparing for take-off from Xuddur to Elberde there appeared to be some disagreements among the local agents about the cargo which was onboard the aircraft. The pilot was made to temporary suspend the take-off as the agents tried to sort out their differences. According to the pilot, there seemed to be unclear decision among the agents on whether to allow the pilot to proceed with the take-off or stop as the pilot was instructed to stop twice after being allowed to take off.

“A few moments later, the pilot decided to take-off after a group of Somali soldiers, local police, Ethiopian soldiers and the local agents had moved away from the aircraft. As soon as the pilot started taxing the aircraft for take-off two armed men came running brandishing guns towards the aircraft and started firing rapidly at the aircraft as the pilot continued with the take-off. The aircraft had gained some speed when the pilot decided to abort the take-off. As the pilot tried to abort the take-off the aircraft veered off the runway and collided with a building nearby before it stopped. All the occupants exited the aircraft using the rear door. The two front doors were inaccessible after the impact. 
Damage included a twisted propeller, a dent on the port wing, a shattered landing light, and two main landing tires deflated as a result of the bullet holes on both the tyres and the aircraft fuselage. A bullet was also found lodged in the right main landing gear brake caliper.”

https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20171007-0

The pilot and all eight passengers survived the interrupted takeoff.

 A search for why armed Somalis fired on the aircraft produced no results.