Today's Headlines
- Two Exhibitions Are On At Ramoma, Nairobi
- Country to Review Tourism Law
- Econet Wireless Finally Rolls Out
- Odinga Warns of Civil Unrest
- Mulee Rules Out Harambee Stars U-Turn
- Taking Up a Women's Agenda
- More Than 6,000 Christian Youth Converge for Prayers
- Catholic Church Outraged By MPs' Refusal to Pay Tax
- Pope Benedict Praying for Release of Abducted Nuns
- Thousands Flee Amid Fears of Border Clashes
- Malaria Rates Plummet Among Children
- Winning Against HIV Stigma Behind Bars
- First Congress of Federation of African Journalists a Historic Milestone, Says IFJ
- Archbishop Lele Urges State to Act as Food Crisis Bites
- Regional Workshop Focus Border Management, Irregular Migration
- Silverbird Acquires Kenya's Nu Metro, Starts Operations in Ghana
- Raila is Evil, Says Minister
- Man Charged With Abduction of Two Catholic Sisters
- UN Censures State On Torture
- Agencies Seek $390 Million to Offset Climate And Food Risks
- UN-Backed Scheme Gives 3,000 Prisoners Clean Water and Sanitation
- Samosa Festival is On in Nairobi
- Heartstrings in Another Comedy
- Govts, Investors Engage RVR in Rail Bid
- Mwangi Replaces Mwebesa At NSE
- Riepa Hosts Business Association
- ICTR Petitions UN for Arrest of Kabuga
- UBA to Invest SH360 Billion in Kenya
- Free Movement of People Too, Not Just Goods and Capital
- Judges Running Out of Money?
The East African Standard (Nairobi)
April 21, 2008
News Article By Brian Adero
Some 113 passengers and seven crew were evacuated from a Kenya Airways plane after it overshot a runway in Uganda.
The incident at Uganda's Entebbe International Airport occurred Monday, a day The Standard obtained a report detailing over 100 incidents involving the airliner's aircraft in the last three months.
The airline confirmed Monday's incident, saying none of the passengers was injured. The aircraft was not damaged, said communications director, Ms Victoria Kaigai.
The Boeing 737-300 aircraft, which was taking off for Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, however, had a tyre deflated in the morning incident.
"There were no injuries or casualties among the 113 passengers and seven crew members on board and no damage to the aircraft," Kaigai said.
She blamed the morning mishap on bad weather.
"Owing to heavy downpour and poor visibility in Entebbe, the pilot landed long and into the runway. The plane suffered a deflated tyre as a result," she said.
The latest accident adds to a list of mishaps that have hit the airliner in the first two months of this year.
In a confidential technical document titled 'Flight Safety Report January-February 2008,' the airline reported that during the same period, there were 135 incidents, an average of two per cent per 100 sectors per fleet.
The Kenya Airways report, which was obtained exclusively by The Standard, shows that the month of February was the worst hit with over 93 per cent of the incidents reported.
The report was forwarded to the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), a body within the International Air Transport Association concerned with the safety of member airlines.
In one of the incidents, cockpit crew noticed a faint smell of kerosene (Jet A1) while flight 5YKQB was cruising at 35,000 feet, says the report.
"The smell quickly later dissipated, however, while overhead beacon 'NN', on commencing the approach, a lot of white acrid smelling smoke appeared in the flight deck and the flight deck crew immediately donned their oxygen masks and managed to isolate the left aircraft pack. After landing, flight deck crew reintroduced the left pack and at this point the smoke also filled the cabin."
According to the report, in February, four incidents involving lack of communication with the Air Traffic Control were reported.
