Pilot In Police Crash Lacked Situational Awareness - Report
Transport CS James Macharia in a statement on Monday, February 22 blasted the pilot as having lacked awareness of his environment that led to the accident.
Marvin Chege 
Investigations completed by the Ministry of Transport have highlighted a lack of situational awareness by the pilot implicated in a police chopper crash that occurred on June 13, 2020, at Kaithe, Meru county.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Department (AAID), Kenya's national aircraft accident investigation agency, classified the eventuality that involved the Agusta Westland AW119 passenger helicopter, with registration 5Y-NPW as an “accident‟ owing to the significant amount of damage sustained on the aircraft and serious injuries suffered by the two occupants.
Transport CS James Macharia in a statement on Monday, February 22 blasted the pilot as having lacked awareness of his environment that led to the accident.
“The investigation identified the probable cause of the accident as the pilot’s lack of situational awareness, and the decision to continue the flight into deteriorating weather conditions that occasioned spatial disorientation after inadvertent entry into instrument meteorological conditions and subsequent loss of helicopter control,” CS Macharia noted.
The accident saw two pilots and four passengers evacuated from the wreckage; two with serious injuries and four with minor injuries of varying degrees.
There was no pre-or post-impact fire, but the helicopter was damaged after colliding with trees and terrain.
According to the CS, investigations further ascertained that the National Police Service Air Wing Standard Operating Procedures did not provide guidance in a number of areas, which contributed to poor decision-making and coordination.
Agusta Westland AW119MKII is manufactured by Leonardo Helicopters in 2014. It was also revealed that the pilot was certified by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) and qualified to fly the AW 119 MK-II aircraft.
The captain of the accident aircraft joined the National Police Service in 2011, underwent a 15-month basic recruit course before being posted to Habaswein in Wajir County.
He was then recruited by the air wing in 2013, where he initially trained as a fixed-wing pilot, before proceeding to South Africa in 2016 where he attained a private and commercial pilot's license.
In 2017, he went through AW 119 kx factory training in Philadelphia in the United States of America before training with fellow police ai wing pilots in 2018 and was elevated to a captain and promoted to the rank of Inspector of Police in 2019.
