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Kenyan plane may have crashed soon after take-off
2007/05/10
PRETORIA NEWS - 10 May 2007 Page 8
Airlines chief pilot says its believed the Boeing crashed 30 seconds into flight
United States aviation experts have conferred with their Kenyan and Carneroonian counterparts in an effort to determine what caused a Kenya Airways jet to rash into a swamp, killing all 114 people on board.
A team from the US National Transportation Safety Board met with the African experts yesterday said Lonnie Kelley the US embassy spokesperson in Cameroon. British experts and officials from Boeing, which made the 737-801 that crashed early on Saturday also arrived yesterday Kenya Airways chairperson Ehancun Mwaniki said his company was bringing in British forensic and DNA specialists and equipment to help identifv bodies.
Bodies were being found in pieces and badly decomposed after nion than 40 hours in the water making the identification process more compilicated and time-consuming. Mwoniki said.
Kenya Airways officials said yesterday that the remains 81 of those aboard had been recovered so far.
Meanwhile, the airlines chief pilot, James Ouma, told a Nairobi news conference on Tuesday that Kenyan crash investigators at the site now believe Flight 507 crashed about 30 seconds after take-off The wreckage was found late on Sunday about 5km, on the aircrafts flight path from Douala airport. By road the distance is about 20km due to the terrain.
Officials in Cameroon had said earlier that they lost contact with the aircraft 11-13 minutes into the flight, but as their investigation continued, they appeared less sure of the timing. Questions have arisen as to when a distress signal believed emitted by the plane was sent or even whether it was from the plane.
Kenyan officials also said on Tuesday they would like the flight data recorder, which was discovered on Monday, to be examined in Canada, but acknowledged the decision would be made by Cameroon. Officials in Cameroon refused to say whether there was any conflict with Kenya over the flight recorder or crash investigation. Kenyan officials said then was no tension between the two countries, and that they had confidence in the efforts of the Cameroonians.
It took nearly two days to find the wreckage, most of it submerged in murky water and concealed by a canopy of trees.
The parts that had been salvaged so far including the black box data recorder, parts of an auxiliary power unit and the rudder were from the back part of the plane. The nose and most of the front part of the plane were not visible, but it appeared the plane was headed away from the airport and on what would have been a normal take-off path at the time of the crash. Yesterday, planes taking off from the airport flew directly overhead.
The six-month-old 737-800 had taken off an hour late because of storms, - Sapa-AP. A South African company is helping to repatriate the bodies of the at least seven South Africans who died in the crash, Sapa reported yesterday "We are in contact with our team from Cameroon Assist, and as soon as the bodies have been identified, we will be co-ordinating their return to South Africa, Europ Assistance SA medical division manager Diana Sharp said. The company would offer bereavement counselling to relatives
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