A preliminary investigation by AugustaWestland and Kenyan officials has so far pointed to a pilot error linked to panic caused by a marabou stock that was flying too close to the chopper over Mathare where the pilot had set it on auto-pilot to operate its camera while filming the slum area.
The investigators said they largely relied on interviews from witnesses on the ground, survivors of the accident who include the two pilots and the flight data recorder. But this report is disputed by some officials at the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.
“The marabou stock was moving too close to the aircraft, and that is when the pilot panicked and tried to move it away. This is clearly heard from those on board,” one official said, quoting the investigator’s report. “But this was not possible because the flight was on auto-pilot and the pilot did not first change it and instead tried to move it manually by engaging a lever that caused it to tilt and crash.”
Two short video clips captured by locals on the fateful day and which was widely circulated on social media show the aircraft in a stationary position for a few seconds over Mathare, before it tried to move sideways and eventually dropped down after losing power.
New details now show that the chopper Augusta 139 billed as one of the best in the world was acquired at the cost of Sh1.4 billion by the police through the Interior Ministry.
The chopper with a capacity of 15 passengers had clocked 214 hours at the time it was delivered to Nairobi in April this year, raising questions on its condition.
Officials familiar with the model at the Police Airwing said, it is capable of taking off and landing on autopilot as long as the right information is provided to it and can fly up to six hours or 1000k m without re-fuelling.
It has the highest speed among the helicopter family and is fitted with rocket launchers and a machine gun.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery who launched the aircraft at the Wilson airport has not commented on the increased air accidents lately—including those involving police choppers.
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