Saitoti family suspects sabotage in crash

Metallurgical expert George Onyango explains a point to the Commission of Inquiry probing the Ngong chopper crash at KICC. [Photo: Jenipher Wachie /Standard]

By ALLY JAMAH

The family of the late Internal Security Minister George Saitoti has expressed “possibilities of sabotage in failure of plane components” shortly before the fateful crash.

Saitoti family lawyer Fredrick Ngatia made the suggestion on Monday to the Commission of Inquiry probing the crash in response to an expert report that said the crash may have been due to “a collapse in the hydraulic system.”

In his report, metallurgical expert, George Onyango said “failure” of the hydraulic system may have resulted after loss of the crucial hydraulic pump, through a fire or after a leak of hydraulic oil through a pin hole. He added that the hydraulic pump has not been recovered so far.

Mr Ngatia said assuming hydraulic failure caused the fatal crash, it was more likely that the failure was “the work of man” and not the normal mechanical troubles considering that the plane was on air for only ten minutes. The hydraulic system is a network of pipes with oil under high pressure, to support the control and manoeuvring of the plane. It is usually more than 20 times the pressure of a car tyre

Mr Onyango admitted the possibility of “sabotage” saying the hydraulic pump and the belt running it are easily accessible through the copter’s “bonnet” and could be interfered with.

But he added that the failure could also be a result of normal mechanical malfunction, a scenario he termed as “quite rare”

“I wouldn’t be able to give a definitive answer on which of the two possibilities caused the crash since some components like the hydraulic pump were missing,” he told the commission led by Lady Justice Kalpana Rawal.

In response, Ngatia suggested that a thorough investigation focusing on the two possibilities may unravel the mystery.

“There is nothing that can be wished away now. It is only through a process of investigation that one can decide whether it is through the act of man or whether it is a failure of a system in the aircraft,” he said.

Responding to a query by Judge Rawal, Onyango said  even if the hydraulic pump had melted away because of fire, causing the collapse of the hydraulic system,  he expected to find the gears of the pump, because the crucial pump is  gear-driven.

Skeleton

“Even if the casing could have melted away, I expected to see some skeleton of the gear left behind,” he said.

Eurocopter lawyer, Anthony Gross wondered if Onyango may have been “coached” to reach his conclusions of “hydraulic failure” saying that there was no mention of such in his initial written report submitted to the commission, a claim the expert flatly denied.

Police lawyer Gikunda Miriti accused Onyango of not drawing up an accurate report, saying he was not present during the opening up of the gearbox.

Commissioner Major General (Rtd) Harold Tangai indicated that a failure in the hydraulic system would still allow the pilot brief moments to manage the plane, thanks to hydraulic accumulator, which prevents sudden loss of pressure in the pipes.

But Onyango said the pilot would still be left to deal with extreme forces and too many things to control, often leaving little chance for landing.