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Saitoti chopper was fitted with ‘fake’ part
What you need to know:
- A commissioner at the inquiry said fitting an experimental item on a certified plane amounted to invalidating the entire aircraft.
- Mr Aggrey Opot, an aviation expert, took issue with the evidence, adding that he was aware of a circular in the industry proscribing subscription to “bogus spare parts.”
- The evidence was adduced by Eurocopter CEO Fabrice Cagnat, who said that technicians re-assembling the chopper in South Africa replaced the monitor despite the advisory from the manufacturer prohibiting installation pending certification.
The helicopter that crashed in Ngong killing Internal Security Minister George Saitoti was fitted with a “bogus” gadget, it has emerged.
The commission investigating the June 10 accident heard that Eurocopter ignored a warning from the manufacturer of the engine monitor “banning its installation in a service aircraft before it was type certified.”
A commissioner at the inquiry said fitting an experimental item on a certified plane amounted to invalidating the entire aircraft.
Mr Aggrey Opot, an aviation expert, took issue with the evidence, adding that he was aware of a circular in the industry proscribing subscription to “bogus spare parts.” (READ: Key Saitoti chopper parts ‘were replaced’)
“You cannot install a part that has not been type certified. If you do, you invalidate the whole aircraft,” Mr Opot said.
The evidence was adduced by Eurocopter CEO Fabrice Cagnat, who said that technicians re-assembling the chopper in South Africa replaced the monitor despite the advisory from the manufacturer prohibiting installation pending certification.
Commission chairperson Lady Justice Kalpana Rawal said that “an aircraft that contains a prototype cannot be certified to aviate.”
Mr Cagnat then produced a type certification of the gadget, which he said originated from the manufacturer in September.
But Saitoti family laywer Fredrick Ngatia said that was “illogical and insensitive for the manufacturer to validate the gadget after the helicopter crashed.”
Earlier, the Eurocopter boss was hard-pressed to explain how a substitution of the original bid detailing the specifications of the aircraft occurred.
It emerged that the firm delivered a different chopper from the one police ordered.
Mr Cagnat said that by the time they were executing the order, the type of aircraft the police wanted had become obsolete, adding that they gave the police “an upgraded version.”
Prof Saitoti’s assistant, Orwa Ojodeh, their two bodyguards and two pilots died in the crash. The hearing resumes on Thursday.
