Passengers aboard a Kenya Airways morning flight on Thursday (May 4th) flying from Nairobi to Dar-es-salaam went through a terrifying ordeal that forced the pilot to land back In Nairobi barely 10 minutes after take off.
A person on the flight who talked to this blogger said that the first thing they noticed was unusually violent turbulence, which they attributed to the rather heavy clouds. However shortly after the violent shaking started, the pilot came on the intercom and announced that the aircraft was going back to Nairobi. He reassured the passengers that there was no cause for panic and it was only a problem with "leaking hydraulic oil".
On approaching JKIA, Nairobi, for landing my source noticed a very heavy presence of ambulance, fire engines and other emergency personnel on the ground. The aircraft taxied and came to a halt on a runaway very far from the main airport terminus. An attempt was made to tow the aircraft but this failed when the tires gave in and rapidly deflated. As passengers quickly disembarked to be driven to the airport lounge, to await the next flight, my source noticed very heavy leaking of some liquid-like substance that was already flooding the runaway. Some passengers claimed that the pilot had dumped fuel in readiness for a possible crash-landing. But this is unlikely because this is not the way fuel is usually dumped. It is actually "dumped" and not "slowly leaked."
No statement was issued by the airline and no report has appeared in any newspaper or major media house yet.
Brilliant reporting, this is really good that you filling us in on this event. Thank you - Your blog is much appreciated.
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unusual scary event you describe. Aircraft like machines, and even with all the usual checks, parts sometimes breakdown. Proper emergency procedures were deployed, and the airline did not wish to alarm other passengers.
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