Fresh details have emerged on what transpired moments before the ill-fated Cessna C208 plane belonging to FlySax airline met its fate at Aberdare Forest killing all 10 people who were onboard.
Different sources have alleged that crew members Captain Barbra Wangeci Kamau and First Officer Jean Mureithi were unfamiliar with the Kitale - Jomo Kenyatta Airport (JKIA) flight path which they had been instructed to use.
According to the Standard, records from an onboard recorder have demystified the accident by detailing conversations between the pilots and the control tower at JKIA.
[caption caption="The rocky terrain at Elephant Hill peak"]
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Quoting a source close to the investigations, the crew members are said to have suddenly encountered thick clouds as transversed the airspace above the Aberdares that clouded their visibility and endangered their voyage.
The onboard recorder is said to have recorded gasps of surprise and shock moments later as the rocky Elephant Hill peak terrain rose from beyond the clouds.
Other sources indicate that the crew may have tried to make a quick turn to avoid a collision but the left wing hit the rocks at 300 kilometres per hour.
The plane disintegrated on impact in with earlier reports indicating that severe damage may have been caused by the wreckage rolling down a 500 metres cliff after the impact.
Besides, the ongoing investigations are said to have revealed that the search and rescue missions took longer than intended given that the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) did not deploy.
An ELT is a piece of equipment that broadcasts distinctive signals on designated frequencies and may be automatically activated on impact or be manually activated and would have made it easy to locate the wreckage given the prevailing extreme weather.
[caption caption="Local rescuers transport bodies downhill from the wreckage"]
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The wreck was spoted by an early morning aerial survey but the extreme weather forced the rescuers to embark on hours of manual recovery given that helicopters on standby were unable to access the wreckage site.
