On 10 June 2012, an aviation accident occurred involving a

Kenya Police ) , formedyear = 1906 , formedmonthday = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = approx. 101,000= , volunteers = , budget = , country = Kenya , ...

helicopter. The

Eurocopter AS350 Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located at Marseille Provence Ai ...

crashed on a hill, killing all six people on board. Among the fatalities were Kenya's Interior Security Minister

George Saitoti George Musengi Saitoti, E.G.H. (3 August 1945 – 10 June 2012) was a Kenyan politician, businessman and American- and British-trained economist, mathematician and development policy thinker. As a mathematician, Saitoti served as Head of the ...

and his Assistant Minister Joshua Orwa Ojode.

Background

The aircraft was on a flight from Nairobi to Ratang’a village in Ndhiwa Constituency,

Homa Bay County Homa Bay County is a county in the former Nyanza Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Homa Bay. The county has a population of 1,131,950 (2019 census) and an area of 3,154.7 km2. Lake Victoria is a major source of livelihood ...

. The two ministers on board – Interior Security Minister

, who had announced his intention to run for Kenya's presidency, and Assistant Minister Joshua Orwa Ojode – had planned to attend a fundraising event at the Nyarongi Catholic Church. The two were to attend a Mass, which was interrupted by the Homa Bay District Commissioner and the local police chief, who broke the news about the deaths to those awaiting their arrival, including the mother and other close relatives of Orwa Odoje.

Accident

The helicopter had departed

Wilson Airport Wilson Airport is an airport in Nairobi, Kenya. It has flights to many regional airports in Kenya while Nairobi's main airport, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, serves domestic and many international destinations. Location Wilson Airport ...

in Nairobi with a full complement of two senior Kenya Police officers as pilots and four passengers on board: the two government officials and two Kenya Police officers acting as their bodyguards. The last radio contact with the helicopter was five minutes after it departed Wilson Airport at 8:32 am local time; and the aircraft then disappeared from radar another five minutes later at 8:42 am. It had crashed into the Kibiku area of the Ngong Forest just outside Nairobi and caught fire. All six occupants were killed in the crash; the aircraft was completely destroyed by the accident, a post-crash fire burning the victims "beyond recognition". Transport Minister Amos Kimunya reported the weather was "normal" at the time of the crash with visibility of .Mukinda, Fred
"Chopper was ‘new and powerful’"
''Daily Nation'', 10 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012"Kenya sets up inquiry into chopper crash"
''Capital News'', 11 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012

Aircraft

The crashed helicopter, Eurocopter AS350B3e Ecureuil, tail number 5Y-CDT, manufactured in 2011, had flown for less than 100 hours when it entered service with the Kenya Police in January 2012 and had accumulated a further 240 hours' flying time since then. It had been bought to replace old Mil Mi-17 helicopters of the Kenya Police Air Wing.

Investigation

A commission led by Lady Justice

Kalpana Rawal Kalpana Hasmukhrai Rawal (born 15 January 1946 in Bhuj, India) is a Kenyan-Asian lawyer and the former Deputy Chief Justice and Vice President of the Supreme Court of Kenya. She was sworn in on June 3, 2013 as the Deputy Chief Justice of Kenya in ...

was formed to investigate the crash. The commission handed in its report on 28 February 2013. It found that the probable cause of the accident was that the crew lost control of the helicopter in conditions of poor visibility.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenya Police helicopter crash, 2012 Aviation accidents and incidents in 2012 Aviation accidents and incidents in Kenya 2012 in Kenya Accidents and incidents involving the Eurocopter AS350 June 2012 events in Africa 2012 disasters in Africa