Data on crashed police chopper sent to US for independent analysis

Flight data from the police helicopter that crashed in Mathare, Nairobi has been sent to the US for independent analysis to establish the cause of the crash.

It has also emerged that Kenya paid Sh1.4 billion to buy the Augusta 139 chopper that crashed on September 8.

Four investigators from the Italian manufacturer AugustaWestland visited the scene of the accident a week after the crash and collected data before interrogating four people who were on board the chopper.

Those on board were two police pilots Inspector Martin Ndungu and Inspector Dennis Oduk, Constable Michael Mutwota and Engineer Mandip Oshan seconded to the Kenya Police Service by the Italian manufacturer.

The data obtained from the chopper shows the pilots panicked when they spotted a marabou stork bird fly near the helicopter. Oduk was reportedly the captain at the time of the accident at 4.14pm.

After compiling their preliminary findings, the team handed it to the director and chief investigator of aircraft accidents Martyne Lunani before leaving on Saturday.

Those privy to the findings say the report seems to attribute the accident to pilot error.

"But that is just preliminary investigation and there is an objection from other parties because those on board were qualified pilots. That is why we are waiting for the formation of the commission and will send the data to the US for an independent analysis," said a source who asked not to be named.

Lunani has handed over the report to Transport CS James Macharia and is waiting for him to gazette a commission of inquiry, at the request of Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery, before he acts on the findings. The commission will, among other things, check on the flight condition when the chopper crashed, and pilots' competence. 

Six police helicopters have crashed over the past two months, not only prompting questions on the state of the helicopters in Kenya, but also casting doubt on the country's training regimen.

Official flight data from accident scenes shows that most crashes have been due to pilot error.

Some police officers had complained that pilots are not well trained to handle choppers at the force's airwing.

The findings show that the chopper left Wilson Airport with the four on board and headed for Mathare. The pilot put it on autopilot as they hovered over the area at 5,770 feet with 5,680kg of weight.

Data from the voice recorder indicate that a marabou stork bird flew too close to the helicopter, forcing the pilot to try to move away from it when the helicopter was on auto pilot.

Police spokesman Charles Owino has defended the actions of police pilots, saying they were qualified. He provided the certificates of the two pilots, Oduk and Ndungu, to prove they had clocked the required flight hours during training and were certified to fly the choppers.

"All I know is that they were all qualified for the job. There is no way they could have been allowed to fly it without the qualifications," said Owino.

The ill-fated chopper was assembled in 10 months and cost the Kenyan government Sh1.4 billion. President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the Agusta factory in September last year and was given a half-hour ride aboard the chopper.