This archive report was first published on 2 November 2019.
Kenya's Aviation Safety Under Scrutiny ¶
Kenya's aviation industry has faced intense scrutiny following a surge in aircraft accidents, with passengers expressing concerns over safety.
According to a report, there has been an average of one aircraft mishap every month within the Kenyan airspace in the past 22 months, raising questions about the general safety of the country's aviation industry.
Despite the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rating Kenya's air safety record as 'commendable' with a 78% score in 2017, insiders claim that the industry continues to threaten the safety of passengers.
Parliament has summoned Transport ministry officials, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), and the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) for grilling in the wake of increased aircraft incidents.
Transport Committee chairman David Pkosing expressed concern over the state of affairs, stating, 'We want them to explain what they are doing on air safety because we cannot have one incident after another and assume everything is right.'
KCAA director-general Gilbert Kibe attributed the recent incidents to being 'isolated' and stated that investigations have been launched.
However, both the Transport principal secretary and KCAA officials failed to appear before the committee, with MPs claiming that the KCAA boss was prevented by powerful elements in government from giving an update on air safety.
The KCAA boss had been invited alongside Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia and the KAA management after two planes belonging to Silverstone Airlines recorded emergency landing incidents in a span of three weeks.
With KAA managing director Alex Gitari being the only official who honoured the committee's invitation, it meant that MPs could not proceed with the meeting.
Gitari informed the MPs that Ksh350 million ($3.5 million) had been budgeted to refill the gaping potholes on the runway at the Wilson airport in Nairobi.
However, a letter from KCAA to House Speaker Justin Muturi indicated the management was ready to appear any other date apart from Friday, prompting members to protest.
MPs rescheduled the session to November 12, with Transport Committee chairman David Pkosing noting, 'This committee will never be intimidated on the safety of the people.'
The frequency and sometimes the casualties involved put the aviation sector regulator, KCAA, on the spot over the quality of inspections they do and the extent to which they enforce laws and regulations regarding acquisition of Air Service Licences and maintenance of the aircraft.
According to a report, there were 28 reported incidents and accidents from January 3, 2018, to October 29, translating to an incident or accident every month.
Two of the accidents involving an aircraft operated by EASAX (5Y-CAC Cessna Caravan) and a private aircraft (5Y-BSE) resulted in a combined 15 fatalities over that period.
The state of aviation safety in the country has drawn renewed interest after recent incidents involving Rudufu Air, Silverstone Air Services, and Safarilink, budget airlines that operate several domestic routes from Wilson Airport.
On October 11, a Silverstone aircraft (5Y-IZO) that was departing for Lamu crashed at Wilson Airport, with no fatalities reported.
On October 27, another Silverstone aircraft (5Y-SMT) clipped an EASAX aircraft at the ramp at Wilson Airport.
On October 28, a Silverstone aircraft (5Y-BWG) lost a wheel on take-off from Lodwar and made an unscheduled landing at the Eldoret International Airport.
A day after the latest Silverstone incident, a Safarilink aircraft, a Cessna Caravan, veered off the runway.
On October 11, a passenger plane, operated by Rudufu Air, skidded off the runway and got stuck in the mud at Takaba Airstrip in Mandera West.
Kenya Airways, the national carrier, has had the highest number of incidents, together with Silverstone, with three mishaps in the period under review.
On February 12, a KQ flight from JKIA to Johannesburg, South Africa, with 142 passengers and 10 crew, was diverted to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, after the left engine overheated.
On June 17, a KQ plane from Mombasa to Nairobi suffered yet another engine shutdown.
Then on October 4, a KQ flight from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam had oxygen masks released and the plane returned to JKIA some 45 minutes after departure.
