KQ plane to Johannesburg returns mid-air due to technical hitch

A Kenya Airways plane at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The incident come just a week after another Nairobi bound flight from Johannesburg was forced to return mid-air and later landed in Mombasa causing hours of delay for customers.
  • Last week, the return of an already air bound plane to Oliver Tambo International Airport led to the crew having fatigue having reached their Flight Time Limitation (FTL) hence the plane had to land in Mombasa instead of Nairobi.

Another Kenya Airways plane, the second in a week, had to return to the airport on Wednesday because of a technical hitch.

The Johannesburg-bound flight that left Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 7.40am made the about-turn in mid-air, causing a three-hour delay.

The airline, known as KQ by its international code, confirmed that the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, had a technical problem, forcing the pilot to return to the airport so the aircraft could be repaired.

The incident comes just a week after another KQ bound for Nairobi from Johannesburg was forced to return to the airport and later landed in Mombasa, causing hours of delay for customers.

“KQ Flight 760 to Johannesburg has already departed. The aircraft a B-737-800 developed a technical hitch that was not safety related. It was a noise in the cabin caused by a seal that wasn’t working properly and would have caused discomfort to our guests for the four hour flight. The Captain opted to return to JKIA to have it fixed,” KQ said in a statement.

CREW FATIGUE

The airline also confirmed that the hitch was addressed and the aircraft that was initially scheduled to leave JKIA at 7.40 am left at 10:30am.

Last week, the return of an already in-flight plane to Oliver Tambo International Airport led to crew fatigue, meaning they had reached their Flight Time Limitation (FTL) and the plane had to land in Mombasa instead of Nairobi.

FTL rules require that flights be planned so as to be completed within the allowable flight duty period, taking into account the time necessary for pre-flight duties, the flight and turn-around times.

The rule specified in the Chicago Convention, which Kenya ratified in 1964, is meant to control chances of pilot fatigue (due to long duty hours, insufficient rest or sleep opportunities), which can pose a risk to the safety of air operations.

REST PERIODS

"The State of the Operator shall establish regulations specifying the limitations applicable to the flight time and flight duty periods for flight crew members.

"These regulations shall also make provision for adequate rest periods and shall be such as to ensure that fatigue occurring either in a flight or successive flights or accumulated over a period of time due to these and other tasks, does not endanger the safety of a flight," reads the convention.

The flag carrier did not specify how long the flight was mid-air before the return and the Nation could not immediately establish whether the return would affect STL and cause a scenario like last week’s.

“The safety of our guests remains the highest priority for Kenya Airways. Flight KQ 760 did not have any safety related technical problem,” Kenya Airways wrote in response.

The loss-making carrier will now be on the spot for such technical hitches after it had heavily invested in aircraft modernization, a move that set it on strong financial headwinds.