Mt. Kenya Crash 19 July 2003

[gofor]

I tend to agree with 126.9. The commander had operated that aircraft out of Songo on the Cohora Bassa dam wall where the aircraft was on contract on and off for a year. The Samburu strip as per the info freely available (3200feet paved at 3300feet elev) would have not even posed a challange to them with their loads in comparrison to Songo. So lets remember the destination airfield is not what caused the crash

quote:

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Foxcotte,
The destination airstrip was also too short for a landing - had one been tried it probably would have resulted in a crash - not with total loss of life, but with some injuries.

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- and getting in to a strip of that nature is far easier than getting out of it in a Metro. Still should not have been a problem from the info available - local knowledge of course is always best. Why they got into the position that they got into is the question at hand ie. FL152 against the mountain! Rumours (being a rumour network) had something to say about a dissagreement with ATC - any leads on that? They were still in a RADAR environment although elected to maintain VMC on an IFR flight plan - Were they under radar control and vectored?? All these questions need to be answered and we still need to maintain compossure and respect for our fellow aviators. Yes it will take at least a year for the guys in the white coats to come up with a probable cause and even then - as in the past - we won't be 100% sure. Also - many pilots make mistakes, and some live to talk about them.

R.I.P Normy/Damien

[Sir Cumference]

Kenya Crash

Spoke to a buddy in Atlanta recently and the news is full of the crash. Apparently the US victims were locals from the area and from what I understand, extremely wealthy (+$80M!). Us African Aviators were getting slated in the press!

Unfortunately after these kinds of tragedy, there is a lot of finger pointing and accusations fly. Just look at this site! Those aviators left behind are most likely to suffer the backlash of an accident like this, whatever the cause.

[ShenziRubani]

Gofor, the Samburu strip doesn't offer any challenge, it is its situation and the direct route from Wilson which does. There is a big mountain on the way. I have lost close relations to CFIT twice and sometimes, we can be looking at all kind of reasons, excuses, and want to keep believing they knew it all, they were the best. But things can be sadly more simple, a moment of inatention, a lack of info on a briefing, etc, lots of little details lead to this kind of accident, whatever was the experience of the crew.

I agree with Sir Cumference, this is always the case unfortunately.

R.I. P. to the crew of this Metro

[jazz123]

I had heard about the crash but I just found out that Norman and Damien were involved. Too soon...
I'd like to drop in and see the guys at RB when I'm in town next week. Does anyone have an address for them.

[BandofBrothers]

Any newsavailable - Mt Kenya Crash 19 July 2003

My nephew Damian was Killed in the Metro crash on Mt Kenya on 19 July 2003. We have since visited Nairobi twice and have even climbed the mountain (The crash site is approx 150m from the 4895m Summit of Pt Lenana) in search of answers to this tragic mystery. The US Embassy in Nairobi/KCAA/SA CAA has gone quiet and are not responding to our queries any more. The latest information received was that a preliminary Accident report had been sent from SA CAA to KCAA. Any feedback from forum members will be appreciated as the close to 4 year wait and the resultant attitude and insensitivity of the Authorities concerned, leaves a lot to be desired. Any feedback will be appreciated.

[arf1410]

As the accident occured in Kenya, the KCAA would have ultimate authority, and responsibility for the investigation, unless of course, Kenya has a separate "accident investigation" authority, similar to the US NTSB which investigates plane crashes, not the FAA. From your posting, it is not really clear what information you are after.

[Soap Box Cowboy]

Since the aircraft was SA registered and I'm assuming insured there, the the SA CAA must have an intrest in what happened along with the owner and insurance company in regards to settling any claims. So would it not be easier to find the information down in SA if Kenya is how I think it is your not going to get much info since the relevant people always seem to be out or on vacation.

I heard the SA CAA had a very profesional investigation unit that did thorough reports.

[BUSHJEPPY]

I heard the SA CAA had a very profesional investigation unit that did thorough reports.

Nothing in the SACAA website under Accidents and Incidents Investigations Reports 2003, which means it has not been issued yet?? It shall be an ICAO requirement for all states to publish publicly aircraft accidents and incidents investigations. Not the case yet will all...

[arf1410]

While I acknowledge that South Africa likely had some role (and certainly more expertise) in the investigation, I still think, that any "official" communucations would come from Kenya, not SA. Also from an ICAO perspective, Kenya would be the "state". Now if you can get friendly with someone from the SA CAA, you could likely get some information...

[BandofBrothers]

Thanks for the feedback

Thanks for your input ! - We have ascertained that a 'Prelim' report was issued in January but nothing is evident on either the SA CAA or Kenyan CAA sites. I am attempting to get in touch with K CAA to get a copy.