Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir has laid out a minute-by-minute account of the helicopter’s final journey before it vanished from radar and crashed, killing Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ngeno and five other people.
Speaking at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Sunday, Chirchir traced the aircraft’s movements from takeoff at Wilson Airport to the exact moment air traffic control lost contact.
Chirchir said the helicopter, flown by Captain George Were, lifted off from Wilson Airport at 11:04am. It touched down at Ngeno’s home in Emurua Dikirr at 11:55am for a brief stop before taking off again at 12:20pm for Mara Rianta, where it landed nine minutes later at 12:29pm.
The MP had travelled to Mara Rianta to join family members and rescue teams searching for two people who had drowned the previous Sunday. The visit formed part of his engagement with residents during the ongoing rescue mission.
From Mara Rianta, the helicopter departed at 12:54pm and later arrived in Endebess at 2:07pm. It then left at 2:29pm heading to Eldoret Airstrip to refuel, landing at 3:29pm. However, Chirchir clarified the sequence of events, noting that the aircraft had departed Eldoret again at 3:07pm en route to Endebess, where it landed at 3:41pm.
The journey continued shortly after, with the helicopter leaving Endebess at 3:43pm and arriving in Tabolwa at 4:20pm. It took off again at 4:25pm. Just one minute later, at 4:26pm, the aircraft disappeared from radar screens.
Air traffic controllers immediately lost contact with the helicopter, raising alarm and setting off efforts that later confirmed it had crashed. The tragedy claimed the lives of all six people on board, plunging the country into mourning.
Chirchir said the Ministry of Transport, through the Air Accident Investigations Department, has launched a probe to determine what led to the crash. Investigators are already at the scene examining the wreckage and gathering key evidence to piece together the aircraft’s final moments.
“The investigation is being conducted in accordance with the rules and standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation,” Chirchir said, referring to International Civil Aviation Organisation protocols that guide aircraft accident probes globally.
He assured Kenyans that the inquiry would be detailed and independent, looking at technical, operational and environmental issues that could have played a role in the accident.
A preliminary report is expected within 30 days, in line with global aviation investigation standards. The findings are expected to explain what caused the sudden loss of radar contact and the crash that ended the lives of the MP and the five others on board.
