Oops...

**Ari707** · 2006-04-06, 12:52 PM

NAIROBI, Kenya (Reuters) -- Kenyan air authorities briefly sparked panic by announcing a plane coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo had crashed with 80 people on board -- then saying it was a practice drill.

"It's a drill," Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) spokesman Dominic Kabiru told Reuters of Thursday's incident.

Asked why KAA would briefly pretend, even to foreign media, that there was a real crash, Kabiru added: "We are testing our preparedness. We have to play a real scenario."

Earlier, various KAA staff had assured reporters the plane had just crashed and was burning close to the airport. On repeated questioning, they gave flight and engine numbers.

"There's a full emergency. An aircraft has crashed ... Engine No. 4 is on fire, there's smoke everywhere," an official at KAA headquarters at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta airport told Reuters minutes before Kabiru's comment.

Emergency services rushed to the scene, witnesses said.

**Max10803** · 2006-04-06, 07:06 PM

Considering the fact that at the end of this summer I am moving to go live in Kenya (Nairobi), thats kinda funny. Of all the stuff I've heard about the country, this story sums it up, defunct and corrupt.

beautiful though

**Derf** · 2006-04-07, 08:41 AM

I would love for someone to find out who was the person responsible for this and tell them, The fire dept. just called and your wife died in a housefire today. Wait about 2 minutes and find him again and say, I just wanted to see how prepaired you [email protected] really pissed me off!

People are afraid of their loved ones flying (Not reasonably but still!). If my wife were on any flight and I got wind of this at the airport....I would leaving in cuffs!!!! And I am not afraid of flying!!!!