Police Spokesperson Resila Onyango on Thursday, July 13, refuted claims that a police chopper crashed in Meru.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke in a phone interview Onyango said that the image-making rounds on social media was from an earlier crash in 2020.
"There is no Police chopper that has crashed. What you are seeing online is an old clip. The chopper crashed on June 13, 2020, in Meru. The registration was 5Y-NPW," she clarified.
The internet was awash with claims that a helicopter destined for a mission in Marsabit crashed killing 10 of its 15 occupants.
The photo showed the wreckage of a chopper with white and navy blue colours synonymous with the Kenya Police Service. It crashed into a Grevillea tree.
A further spot check by Kenyans.co.ke indicated that the AgustaWestland AW119 chopper crashed at a farm in Kaithe Kithoka, Meru County.
The plane was ferrying two pilots and four passengers among them Eastern Regional commissioner and his security team. The group was headed to Moyale for a joint security meeting with North Eastern government officials.
Conclusion of Investigations
In February 2021, the Ministry of Transport, headed by CS James Macharia at the time, concluded that the crash was caused by a pilot's lack of situational awareness.
The Ministry further concluded that the crash was an accident because of substantial damage to the chopper's fuselage.
“The investigation identified the probable cause of the accident as the pilot’s lack of situational awareness, and the decision to continue the flight into deteriorating weather conditions that occasioned spatial disorientation after inadvertent entry into instrument meteorological conditions and subsequent loss of helicopter control,” read the report at the time.
Two people sustained serious injuries from the incident.
