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KCAA announces audit on Silverstone Air after recurring mishaps

KCCA Director General Cpt Gilbert Kibe (pictured) on Monday said the agency was carrying an inspection on the airline, saying safety and security within the Kenyan airspace remains a paramount priority/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 28 – Kenya Civil Aviation Authority’s Air Accident Investigations Department has launched a probe on a privately-owned airline, Silverstone Air, following a series of incidents, risking the safety of its clients.

KCCA Director General Cpt Gilbert Kibe on Monday said the agency was carrying an inspection on the airline, saying safety and security within the Kenyan airspace remains a paramount priority.

“As per the provision of Civil Aviation Act No. 21 of 2013, amended in 2016, KCAA is mandated to manage, regulate and operate a safe, secure and efficient Civil Aviation system in Kenya,” Kibe said in a statement.

“The audit is being performed to determine the level of compliance with the current Civil Aviation regulations and their own company approved manuals and procedures.”

Within a span of 3 weeks, the airline has had two major incidents, the first one when its plane with 55 people on board skid off the runway at Nairobi’s Wilson airport during taking off, leaving some 9 people with injuries.

On Monday, another plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Eldoret’s Moi International Airport, after a wheel fell off after take-off.

In a statement, the airline did not address the emerging safety concerns, but instead insisted the clients affected by the morning incident were rebooked to another plane to Nairobi.

The aircraft operated by Silverstone Air was forced to make an emergency landing in Eldoret’s Moi International Airport on Monday after a wheel fell off during take-off/COURTESY

The latest incident has put KCAA on spot for being lenient in the glare of danger, but Kibe  urged the public to remain vigilant “in reporting safety concerns.”

The Air Accident Investigations Department is yet to release a report on what transpired during the first incident on October 11.

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