Kenya Airways Ltd. disagreed with investigators’ conclusions that the airline has no safety oversight and had insufficiently trained a co-pilot in a report on the May 2007 crash in Douala, Cameroon that killed 114 people, Managing Director Titus Naikuni said.
The airline “agrees” with the overall report, Naikuni told reporters in the capital, Nairobi, today.
Kenya Airways’ flight KQ 507 crashed on May 5, 2007 killing everyone on board. The Boeing 737-800 disappeared after takeoff from the port city of Douala on a flight to Nairobi. A report by the Kenyan government released yesterday said the crash was probably caused by pilot error.
The airline disagrees with the finding that the engagement of the autopilot by the crew just before the crash didn’t follow the procedure recommended by Boeing Co., the manufacturer of the aircraft, Alex Avedi, head of corporate quality, told reporters today. The conclusion that Kenya Airways has no safety is incorrect because a different section of the report commends the airline for its safety procedures, Avedi said.
The finding that the co-pilot had not undergone training on crew resource management is also incorrect because a different section of the report even notes the dates that he underwent the training, he said.
The airline has compensated 92 percent of the victims’ families, with the remaining 8 percent negotiating with the airline’s lawyers or are awaiting letters of administration, Naikuni said.
Air France-KLM, Europe’s largest airline, owns 26 percent of Kenya Airways, the third-biggest carrier in sub-Saharan Africa. South African Airways is the largest.
