It is true that as the aviation industry widens and different types and models of aircraft are produced, the world will witness more air crashes.
However it is very unusual for a small service such as the Kenya Air Force to be losing so many aircrafts and personnel within a span of a few years
The rate at which its helicopters, some of them still very new, are falling from the sky and taking innocent lives with them, is enough to raise eyebrows among aviation experts and enthusiasts.
Nobody knows this better than President Ruto himself.
For the entire time he served as Deputy President, William Ruto avoided those military choppers like the plague.
It is only when he became president that he started boarding them, and this was mainly because of the dictates of the office he holds.
The choppers are a death trap!!
The day has ended again with another deadly crash involving a Kenya Air Force chopper.
This time the crash took the lives of senior military officials.
On Sept 19, 2023, a BELL UH-1H-II helicopter crashed in Boni forest killing the occupants on board.
The aircraft was only seven years old.
It was among 12 Bell Huey helicopters delivered to Laikipia Air Base in December 2016, after American aerospace manufacturer Bell Helicopters was awarded a contract to produce eight Huey II choppers for the Kenya Air Force.
A similar helicopter with registration KAF 1503 belonging to the same fleet had crash-landed on 27 June 2018, less than two years after delivery.
There were no fatalities, but the aircraft was written off.
On July 13, 2020 an MD530F Cayuse Warrior Combat Helicopter belonging to the Kenya Army crashed at Kathyoko Machakos killing two pilots.
The helicopter was only five months old and was among the six helicopters delivered to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) on Feb 18, 2020.
They were part of the 150 MD530F model ordered by the US Army under a 5-year $1.4B contract for allies and partner countries.
Kenya was to receive 12. The MD 530F is a multipurpose light attack and reconnaissance helicopter manufactured by McDonnell Douglas in the United States.
The helicopter, manufactured by French Airbus Helicopters, was only five years old and was among eight similar helicopters acquired by the Kenyan Defence Forces from the United Arab Emirates’ military.
These were delivered on September 6, 2018.
The AS 550C3 is a light-weight and multipurpose military helicopter
On June 24, 2021, at least 10 soldiers died when the Russian made Mi 171E helicopter crashed in Kajiado County.
The helicopter was among the 3 Mi-171E bought from Russia in 2010. And by 2014, one had already been written off.
In November 2023, a similar chopper crashed in Buna, Wajir County.
Perhaps it was the last Mi 171E
On July 20, 2023, A Eurocopter AS-550C3 Fennec registration 1704 belonging to the Kenya Air Force crashed after it struck a tree at Chemolingot , Tiaty West, Baringo.
Two crew members suffered injuries and the other two occupants were not injured.
Is it due to lack of maintenance, poor personnel training or Kenya being sold substandard helicopters?
For a very long time the Kenya military operated only two models of choppers.
One was the French Puma used by the air force and American MD Hughes used by the air cavalry based at Embakasi.
It was thus easy to trace problems, hold manufacturer accountable and keep proper log book on maintenance as well as easy sourcing of spare parts.
But today the military operates a fleet of different models of choppers, from different manufacturers in different countries.
In experts’ view, operating a varied fleet of choppers is good for a growing air force operating in the modern world, but this has its own downside especially in the third world.
It puts pressure on the limited budget, thus compromising quality control.
This is because there are specifications for every model of helicopter, which means they require different types of maintenance, operation and training for air crew.
The chopper which killed the Kenyan Chief of Defence Forces
The aircraft is one of six Bell UH-1H Huey II helicopters acquired by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) from the United States in 2016.
The helicopter met its fate at Endo ward in Elgeyo Marakwet shortly after taking off from Cheptulel boys’ secondary school in the neighbouring Pokot central sub county.
The officials were on a tour to assess the security situation and possible reopening of schools along the volatile West Pokot -Elgeyo Marakwet border.
General Francis Omondi Ogolla, the Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces (CDF), was killed in the accident.
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