Kenyans were taken aback on Wednesday after a clip of people pushing a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan plane made rounds on social media.
Whereas the location of the incident was not made public, the video showed the plane being pushed on untarmacked ground.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, an official from Kenya Airports Authority noted that the push was not to jumpstart the plane as earlier claimed.
Instead, the official, who preferred to remain anonymous, explained that the operators of the aircraft wanted to get the light craft to the runway for a takeoff.
Below is the video:
"You cannot jumpstart a plane. Probably, they are just moving it. It could have been probably the start of a runway and it could not power itself," he explained.
"That particular type of plane needs to be pushed by a pushback tractor at the airport. It needed to start on the runway to start the engine."
The official, however, noted that subjecting individuals to push a plane may destroy some of its components.
"It is dangerous. From my perspective, it might end up damaging something on the plane because I don't think the plane is meant to be pushed like that."
The 208B Grand Caravan, whose manufacture began in 1986, is a sizeable 9-passenger plane that measures 17 feet long by 5 feet wide by 5 feet tall giving it a total cabin volume of 352 cubic feet.
According to a manual obtained by Kenyans.co.ke showed that the plane can be easily and safely towed by hand with the towbar attached to the nosewheel.
"The towbar may be stowed in Zone 6. Moving the airplane by hand will require that the individual steering with the towbar be assisted by personnel pushing at the wing struts," read the manual in part.
"Use extreme caution during towing operations, especially when towing with a vehicle. Do not exceed the nose gear turning angle limit of 51.5° either side of centre."
According to the manual, if the excess force is exerted beyond the turning limit, a red over-travel indicator block (frangible stop) will fracture and the block, attached to a cable, will fall into view alongside the nose strut.
"If the airplane is towed or pushed over a rough surface during hangaring, watch that the normal cushioning action of the nose gear does not cause excessive vertical movement of the tail and the resulting contact with low hangar doors or structure. A flat nose tire will also increase tail height," added the manual.
