The puzzle of the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Francis Ogolla and nine other KDF officers has raised concerns over the safety of the military aircraft.
Yesterday's chopper crash in Elgeyo Marakwet was the fifth incident involving the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in the past year.
Recently, a military training helicopter, that had 20 people on board, crashed and burst into flames in the Ngong area. In a statement, KDF later highlighted that the chopper crashed while on a training drill and confirmed that rescue operations were underway.
Last month, Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen and Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) board chairman Caleb Kositany escaped unhurt following a helicopter crash in Baringo.
Following the incident, Baringo County Police Commander Julius Kiragu confirmed that the helicopter developed mechanical problems shortly after taking off and crashed. The four people on board escaped unscathed.
This has brought to the limelight, the safety concerns of the country's military aircraft considering that Kenya's highest-ranking military officer succumbed in the line of duty.
The aircraft that CDF Ogolla used is called Bell UH-1 Iroquois alias known as Bell Huey II, a chopper designed for the deployment of versatile missions.
Overview
Aside from the army, it's primarily used by first responders/ rescue personnel or VIPs. The first production of the aircraft was designed from 1956 to 1987 and to date, only 16,000 have been built globally.
The chopper is mainly used by the United States Army, Australian Army and Japan Ground Self Defence Forces. The helicopter also gained prominence during the Vietnam War, as over 7,000 choppers were deployed.
Features
According to the fact sheet released by BellFlight, an aerospace company which designs the aircraft, the Bell Huey II can carry 14 people and is also designed to accommodate mechanical and electrical provisions in case of emergencies.
The sliding doors in the chopper support in-flight operations while an engine power of 1,800 shaft horsepower (shp) offers great speed.
The new versions of Bell Huey II combine commercial dynamic components to provide an increase in hover performance in hot conditions.
"So whether your mission is troop transport into high altitudes, medical evacuation in hot conditions, or VIP transport to and from remote bases, choose the Huey II," read part of the profile.
In 2017, Bell Huey helicopters were handed to the Kenya Air Force as part of the United States Embassy security cooperation programme in Africa.
This is after Bell Helicopter was awarded a foreign military sales contract worth 5.2 million US dollars for the supply of five Huey II choppers and spares for Kenya. Six choppers were delivered to Laikipia Air Base.
Further, the US embassy provided over Ksh11.5 billion worth of military equipment.
