Well this looks like an interesting story...After a good look at it from both sides, I think I made my own opinion, based on facts, not on shameful rumors.
I'll reserve my comments about the behavior of some civil aviation officials, I'm sure my fellow aviation professionals in Kenya and especially at Wilson Airport understand what I'm talking about.
That story stinks. It doesn't stink because of what happened during this flight in Somalia, but it stinks because once again politics and rivalry have messed up a story which could have otherwise been sorted out in no time. Let's face it, there's nothing much to talk about here. And certainly not enough material for such a fuss. No that story stinks because it has been used as an opportunity to harm an competitor.
Of course I'm sure my good friend Ned will make a 360-spin in his panties reading this comments from Auckland, as I noticed a tendency he developed to crap on any operator in Kenya which is NOT Lady Lori.
But allow me to continue and make the following remarks:-
1. If the Nanyuki boys are such bandits and deserve to be wiped out from the surface of the aviation planet, why is there no inquiry at Phoenix Aviation? As far as I know, they were also part of that rescue mission.
2. Assuming a CAR has been broken, how come KCAA decided to suspend the company AOC rather than suspend the PIC? How many operators would be left in Kenya if this rule was applied? Everett? Gone. Lady Lori? Vanished. KQ? Disqualified. None of the most reputable companies would have been grounded to their death.
3. What is the KCAA legal ground in terms of jurisdiction? Is Somalia became a Kenyan province all of a sudden?
Now call me old-school, but I'll stand with these guys on that one. Not only because I disagree with the way the matter has been handled at KCAA, but also because I like to think there's still people out there who will do these **** jobs, no matter what.
As a conclusion, let me declare that I would gladly give one of my balls to get that rescue mission on my C.V, so if you guys want to pretend it wasn't you, put it on my bill.
Cheerios