Kenya Airways….Oh Dear!
This is not good, not good at all.
I had already boiled down the African airlines that I would fly to two: Kenya airways was one and South African airlines was the second. Now, I don’t know if I’d want to fly Kenya Airways again. I’m sorry…..this is the second fatal accident in less than ten years and it is going to be a huge public relations dilemma for Kenya airways, which is operating under the cloud that African airlines have one of the worst safety records in the world.
And don’t tell me accidents can happen to anyone. Kenya airways does not fly that many flights compared to larger international carriers like British airways. Although the safest airline in the world is the Australian carrier Qantas (they’ve never had a fatal accident) while South African airlines is the safest in Africa. More here (Airline Safety records).
I know when tragedies like these happen, people tend to rally around the flag, but the reality is, when it comes to Africa, people in the west do not distinguish between the various countries. Do not underestimate their geographical ignorance. Ask any Kenyan whose lived in the west and they’ll tell you how astoundingly ignorant people are about Africa. They know nothing!
I remember having drinks at the hood in Kilimani, a location where many pilots used to hang out and I remember noticing just how much they were drinking (some of these pilots were literally falling off their chairs). Then, I recall someone saying that one of the captains had been given several warnings about drinking while flying and they all laughed, but I recall thinking to myself….“well, that isn’t particularly humorous”. I’m not saying the pilots of this plane that went down were drinking because I don’t know if they were, but that incident at the hood left me with several concerns. There was a certain bravado amongst the pilots that I didn’t quite like.
Let’s move on to the prospects of flying in Africa and the safety implications:
Let’s say I want to fly from Nairobi to Abuja and I want to get to my destination alive. What choices do I have? If I’m suicidal, I’ll obviously fly Nigerian airlines, but if I’m not, what do I do? do I have to fly British airways and go through London, then turn around and come back to Africa? & why have both accidents occurred in West Africa?
[...] Kenya Entrepreneur is not sure about flying Kenya Airways, which used to be his first choice of African airlines: I had already boiled down the African airlines that I would fly to two: Kenya airways was one and South African airlines was the second. Now, I don’t know if I’d want to fly Kenya Airways again. I’m sorry…..this is the second fatal accident in less than ten years and it is going to be a huge public relations dilemma for Kenya airways, which is operating under the cloud that African airlines have one of the worst safety records in the world. [...]
2/05/07, a honorary Vice president of Chelsea Football club died after the helicopter he and 3 other people where in crashed. Back in 1996 the vice chairman of Chelsea FC died with 4 other people after a helicopter crashed….Coincidence? These two dead Chelsea officials are said to have been good friends. About KQ maybe there is more than just meet the eye!! This is me thinking out loud..I might wrong but as u said, why 2 accidents in West Africa?
I think (& this is pure speculation on my part) that maybe younger Kenyan pilots are not used to flying in the climatic conditions found in West Africa, where you have heavy rains, thick dense forests, no radar, thunderstorms, different altitude issues etc, etc…
Is it lack of training on KQ’s part?
Is it pressure to complete flights regardless of the weather?
These two accidents have occurred under Naikuni’s watch. Is it time for him to go?
This is a sad stat of affairs indeed and first let me express my condolences to the friends and family of those who were on board.
That being said,i have to take issue with the hype surrounding plane crashes.The wreckage hasnt even been found and you have people speculating on the cause of the crash.Talk of Africa’s safety record,kq’s safety record,kq’s training,inexperienced pilots,pilots drinking habits etc etc.the list is endless and it exposes all the stigma and rush-to-judgement that we have a long way to go in eliminating.
For perspective consider this: how many people have died in road crashes in kenya alone since Jan 1st? I bet the figure is way above the 114 on the ill-fated kq crash.Again i emphasise that this should not trivialize the tragedy because any loss of life is nothing to sniff at.But do we spare a moment for victims of other tragedies as much as we dwell on plane crashes? I think not.The media also aid and abet in this sensetinalization but thats a different bone to pick all together.
Considering kq, its unfortunate that hints have been made as to their quality of pilot training and/or sobriety at the time of the flight.Again, speculation at its most vicious.Its unfair to conclude that because a pilot is seen drinking (away from work and at his local…where else do you want the guy to drink???) he’s going to leave the bar and go straight to fly.Apart from deriding the professional ethics of pilots you are insinuating that there are no checks and balances at kq,the company condones that kind of thing and generally that everyone would just shrug their shoulders and say ‘the captain is drunk lakini tuende tu’.Perhaps thats why you would prefer to fly BA to Abuja-I guess foreign carrier pilots dont drink or have social lives(based on your rationale).Dedan kimathi would turn in his grave.
Lets not be so quick to judge and condemn.And lets not get caught up in the hype and furor that accompanies plane crashes.So you think flying is dangerous? Tell that to the pilot who flew for over 25 years…then died at the hands of thugs.
Anonymous, very well put. There is sympathy when the rich and famous (and I’m imagining someone who is flying is not in the poverty level of a matatu rider) die.
I guess when you (KE) you get to kenya you will not drive at all? Now thats the real danger in my books.
And for the CEO (by the way do they have to keep repeating this guy is the CEO??? Whats up with the title hang ups??? people died, lets pray and help in whatever ways we can) why does he have to be the scape goat and be fired??? I think this is the American way of firing at the head guy even when he has no consequences on the outcome at hand. Happens all the time in professional sports, a team performs lousy and the head couch gets the axe???
God rest the souls of those who died in peace.
Plane accidents will always make the news. There’s something about descending to your death from 13,000 feet up that just captures people’s imagination and interest. That’s why you can’t compare them to car accidents. Car accidents do not capture people’s imagination in the same way.
As far as the drunk captain, I did mention that someone said he had been given several warnings. It was not the drinking per se as it was the several warnings/chances…at what point do you fire them?
People can get all sentimental about their national carrier, but the facts are the facts. Africa has a bad reputation on safety when it comes to their flying records. Kenya is in Africa. This is the second fatal crash in less than ten years. This crash will affect the reputation of Kenya airways, whether you want to admit that or not! You’ve got to get away from this patriotic sentimentality and look at the reality of what this accident means.
And Naikuni is a legitimate target. That’s why he’s getting paid the big bucks. Those big jobs come with big responsibility. When things go right you get the praise, but if things go wrong, you have to take the heat.
What I would like to know is severe weather coupled with pilot error or severe weather, pilot error and dilapidated infrastructure?
By all accounts, the weather conditions were terrible so I’d like to know why they flew.
KQ will definitely have to prove its competence and diligence on this one, I will reserve judgement until all the facts come out. In the meantime, I will continue to vouch for KQ. I have flown them regionally and internationally and their service has been exemplary. I also agree with Banks analysis, KQ’s core market is its intra-African routes……..brilliant strategy that has paid off. It is those passengers who fly regionally that it will have to reassure in terms of safety and competence. It cannot take them for granted and assume that limited options will keep them at bay…..from a corporate responsibility, liability and plain business perspective, it cannot afford to loose its customer share to the waiting arms of Ethiopian Airways or SA Airways.
I hope for those of us who are loyal KQ customers, the cause of this tradgedy is unearthed in a timely manner, full disclosure is made and preventative and mitigating measures taken.
Sijui:
Maybe in light of these two accidents, they may have to re-examine their intra-African routes. The capital of Cameroon is Yaounde and we all know that with the exception of South Africa, most African countries do not have well developed cities outside of the main capital.
So, did the airport in Douala have the right equipment to handle take-offs in these kinds of weather conditions? and does Kenya airways need to re-examine whether they should be flying into airports IN Africa that are outside the capital cities?
I looked at the Kenya airways website and noticed that they only have 23 planes. Now, they’ve already lost two — that’s already 10% of their fleet.
From the snippets I’m reading they are saying that Douala Airport has dilapidated infrastructure and lacks the radar capacity to provide rigorous weather information. So it would mean KQ relied on the in flight technology present in these new Boeing aircraft in lieu of the tower information……..that may be their calculation in terms of servicing these obscure, backwater airports. Rely on flight technology rather than on the ground infrastructure. Either way, even with the in flight data, that’s a risky gamble since obviously the flight crew underestimated the prevailing weather patterns. This is all speculative…let’s wait for the official account.
Well, that’s very interesting.
I’ve been amazed at the comments on the other Kenyan blogs — nobody wants to criticize either KQ or Naikuni or anyone!
If Kenya Airways has another fatal accident within the next five years, they are going to be in serious, serious, trouble.
I have to believe that those KLM executives are taking a serious look at Naikuni right now (you better duck bro because the slingshots are on their way!)
It is in KQ’s interest to disprove culpability on their part as soon as possible, or at the very least prove that it was not gross negligence on their part. Naikuni is safe, he has been an extraordinary steward of KQ and his bonafides as a competent CEO are airtight dating back to his days at Magadi Soda and even before then. He’s smart, competent, thorough and an extremely hard worker. I’ll be the first to be surprised if it comes out that there was any lack of due diligence on his part i.e. he knowingly discounted or ignored safety precautions etc.
Kenyans are circling the wagons because well, majority are damn proud of the turnaround at KQ, and they ought to be, and well nobody wants to look the gift horse in the mouth. And we do have a penchant for being sensitive to criticism. Hence the reason why I hope KQ is forthright and agressive in getting to the bottom of this.
Why would Kenya Airways agree to fly into backwater cities like Douala?
I found this on google:
As long as the Co-operation Agreement (see below) remains in force, the Board of Kenya Airways may not make any major strategic decisions, such as new aircraft acquisitions or material changes to Kenya Airways’ route network, without the prior approval of the KLM-appointed Directors (full link is below)
We all know that boards of directors rarely take the blame when things go wrong. If someone is going down, it’s going to be the CEO.
http://www.galbithink.org/topics/ka/alliance.htm
Already some are calling for KQ to cancel West African flights…if there is indeed any mystery or foul play, isn’t that the perpetrators whole point?
What could have happened to KQ 507?
1. Corrupt officials at either or both the Abidjan and Douala airports OVERLOADED the plane. People who have flown thru west African airports are familiar with the way airport officials record just half of the weight of your checked in luggage then make you “pay” for the other half directly to them. Same goes for hand luggage, where any excess weight is not left behind but “paid” for.
So the KQ crew might have taken off thinking they are carrying half of what they are actually carrying. Add to that INCOMPETENT airport officials, NO RADAR and BAD WEATHER.
= Next time airport officials let you carry excess luggage take a ‘Pause and Calmly think about it‘!
2. Maybe someone is actually not be too happy with Kenya Airways growing that fast in the African Skies.
Conspiracy theory? Maybe – but they say where there is smoke there is fire. Who might want to hurt Boeing? Who might feel that they not KQ should have a monopoly over francophone skies? Who is jealous of KQs growth into Southern Africa? Whose interests might be furthered by such an incidence? Shindwe!
Already some are calling for Kenya Airways to CANCEL West African flights…if there is indeed any mystery or foul play…wouldn’t that be the perpetrators whole point?
= God Bless Kenya!
In addition to my ealier lenghty entry let me drop a few lines.
KE, its only natural for kenyans to cirlcle the wagons as has been said.To suggest that its blind patriotism in the face of an unsafe airlineis not being fair to kq, on your part.We should stand up for kq first then ask questions later.Look at the Abidjan crash: this weeks sat standard reports that the official report exonorates the pilots and the airline because when something went wrong they did as trained and recommended by the aircraft manufacturer.the french or airbus for that matter have never owned up to any shortcomings on their part that might have played a role.consequently,to date the blame looks to lie with kq and the pilots when that actually should not be the case.we are made to understand that this time around the kq guys were quick to get to the crash site and get their hands on the blackbox so that a repeat of the abidjan missinformation or misdirection would not occur.now we await their own findings.
as for flying into back waters.that douala is a small ity is true but not all african countries have everything centering round the capital like kenya.Cameroon,Nigeria and SA are a few examples and kq fliesinto the commercial capitals of these countries.Same reason why they fly to Gouangzhou and not Beijing – its the traders they are connecting. Douala like most african airports doesnt have radar facilities but dont be under the impression that it makes an airport unusable.Mombasa’s radar has been known to go on the blink but flights carry on kama kawaida and you dont hear anything of it.The margin of safety is improved by having radar and competent controllers,but not sigificantly to the point where their absence would warrant the withdrawal of services to that airport.
i still maintain that an unfair stigma is attached to pilots and drinking.i know a few doctors who have treated patients while not 100% sober (my family doctor died of scirrosis of the liver- too much kinywaji go figure).but thats a different topic all together so i will not dwell on it.
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