By Ally Jamah
NAIROBI; KENYA: The team probing the helicopter crash that killed former Vice-President George Saitoti and five others last June believes that the chopper's two police pilots lost control due to “poor visibility”.
However, the craft's manufacturer also came in for criticism over the fitting of uncertified equipment.
Prof Saitoti, then the Internal Security Minister, died alongside his deputyOrwa Ojode, pilots Nancy Gituanja and Luke Oyugi and two police bodyguards.
A commission of inquiry led by Deputy Chief JusticeKalpana Rawal revealed on Thursday that the probable cause of the accident was poor weather in which captains Gituanja and Oyugi were unable to manoeuvre the plane. Commissioner Captain Peter Maranga said ‘pilot error’ was likely as the two police pilots were not sufficiently trained to fly in poor weather.
“The final report is a product of through evaluation of the evidence adduced before the Commission and a critical analysis of the technical reports received from various experts,” Justice Rawal said.
The Judge added: “Through the entire process, the Commission appreciated the gravity of the public interest in the subject of the Inquiry. We also have been conscious of the public perceptions and expectations that have been created through the process of the Inquiry.”
The commission criticised Eurocopter, the manufacturers of the ill-fated plane, for installing an uncertified prototype component called the Vehicle Engine Monitoring Display (VEMD), which allows the pilot to keep an eye on how the engine is functioning. They urged the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority to send a protest note to the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA), which regulates aviation in Europe, over Eurocopter allowing the uncertified VEMD to be used in an operational aircraft.
The Rawal team said that they could not determine whether the death of the six victims of the crash was due to carbon monoxide poisoning, traumatic injuries, fire injuries or a combination of both.
The Inquiry said that the Kenya police Airwing, which operated the helicopter has serious shortcomings” in the fields of training, safety management, and continuing airworthiness.
The Commission said the decision to purchase the helicopter from Eurocopter was made before tendering process was completed as per the legal requirements. Rawal handed over the report to President Kibaki on Thursday in the afternoon after completing its compilation in December last year.
Lawyers of the family members include Mayani Sankale, Ashford Muriuki declined to give an immediate reaction to the Rawal announcement until they study the whole report. However, the judge indicated that an earlier objection by the Saitoti family to the release of the report to the President and the public was withdrawn. Reports by experts on six key components sent abroad returned without having a bearing on the cause of the accident.
President Kibaki is expected to make public the contents of the Rawal report to allow the public to study it comprehensively and buck the trend of the past where inquiry reports into aviation accidents were not made public.
The commission heard from 66 witnesses, tested various components of the subject copter by experts in United Kingdom, Canada and France and considered submissions from various lawyers representing the families of the victims and interested parties such as Eurocopter, police and the Kenya.
The team recommended an overhaul of KCAA for it to better deliver on its mandate of maintaining aviation safety through enhanced funding from Treasury and limiting itself to regulatory functions by delinking itself from the Air Navigation Service, and East Africa School of Aviation.
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