{"id":14558,"date":"2024-04-19T10:17:58","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T10:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/?p=14558"},"modified":"2024-04-19T10:17:59","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T10:17:59","slug":"a-timeline-of-kenyas-deadliest-plane-disasters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/?p=14558","title":{"rendered":"A Timeline of Kenya&#8217;s Deadliest Plane Disasters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/skynews-japan-plane-fire-tokyo_6409983-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14559\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/skynews-japan-plane-fire-tokyo_6409983-980x551.jpg 980w, https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/skynews-japan-plane-fire-tokyo_6409983-480x270.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The tragic crash of a military helicopter on Thursday, April 18, resulting in the loss of Chief of Defence Forces Francis Ogolla and 11 other service members, has reignited painful memories of past aviation disasters involving Kenya&#8217;s senior military and government officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The incident occurred near the Kaben-Cheptulel border, in a remote area between Elgeyo Marakwet and West Pokot counties. The helicopter, transporting Ogolla and his team, went down under unclear circumstances shortly after departing from Cheptulel Boys Secondary School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"360\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ogola-1-360x180-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14561\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ogola-1-360x180-1.png 360w, https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ogola-1-360x180-1-300x150.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This latest crash adds to a distressing pattern of incidents that have raised serious concerns about the safety of Kenya&#8217;s military aircraft. Recent years have witnessed multiple aviation tragedies involving the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>November 9, 2023: A plane crash involving an AS 550 C3 Fennec, designated for attack purposes, crashed in Ol Tepesi, Kajiado.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>November 20, 2023: A Mi 171e helicopter crashed in Buna, Garissa, during a patrol operation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>July 20, 2023: An AS 550 C3 Fennec plane crashed in Chemolingot, West Pokot, while accompanying Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"609\" src=\"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/urn-publicid-ap-org-df0341126be1d7a4386454273f15ca98APTOPIX_Texas-Plane_Fire_54047.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/urn-publicid-ap-org-df0341126be1d7a4386454273f15ca98APTOPIX_Texas-Plane_Fire_54047.webp 780w, https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/urn-publicid-ap-org-df0341126be1d7a4386454273f15ca98APTOPIX_Texas-Plane_Fire_54047-480x375.webp 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 780px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, the KDF reported the loss of a surveillance helicopter in Lamu County&#8217;s Boni Forest during a routine patrol, with details of the incident not fully disclosed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These frequent and fatal incidents have prompted intense scrutiny and criticism, particularly after the decision in December 2020 to transfer the management of civilian-owned aircraft to the military, forming the National Air Support Department (NASD) at Wilson Airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Concerns about transparency persist, with the Kenya Air Force facing criticism for its lack of openness in releasing detailed accident investigation reports. This has sparked debates over accountability and the necessity for more stringent safety protocols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kenya&#8217;s history is marked by several high-profile aviation disasters involving government officials, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>January 2003: A plane crash in Busia claimed the life of a cabinet minister and two pilots.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>April 2006: A KDF plane crash in Marsabit resulted in the deaths of 14 people, including five Members of Parliament.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>June 10, 2012: A helicopter crash killed Kenya&#8217;s Interior Security Minister and his Assistant Minister, among others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite these challenges, Kenya&#8217;s commercial aviation record remains relatively stable, with Kenya Airways experiencing only two major crashes in its operational history. However, concerns persist regarding the operational safety and financial oversight of the Kenya Police&#8217;s aviation operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Aviation Safety Network&#8217;s data highlights ongoing safety challenges for the Kenya Air Force, with 12 aircraft lost since 2012, underscoring the need for continued efforts to enhance aviation safety standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The tragic crash of a military helicopter on Thursday, April 18, resulting in the loss of Chief of Defence Forces Francis Ogolla and 11 other service members, has reignited painful memories of past aviation disasters involving Kenya&#8217;s senior military and government officials. The incident occurred near the Kaben-Cheptulel border, in a remote area between Elgeyo [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":14561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ogola-1-360x180-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14558"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14562,"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14558\/revisions\/14562"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}