Kenya Airways loses contact with Jet

[T-Bird76]

Kenya Airways Loses Contact With Jet
Sat May 5, 4:27 AM


NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenya Airways has lost contact with a commercial airliner carrying more than 100 passengers that took off from Cameroon early Saturday, the airline said.

"The last message was received in Douala after takeoff and thereafter the tower was unable to contact the plane," Kenya Airways CEO Titus Naikuni said Saturday.

The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 106 passengers, eight crew members and a flight engineer, he said. The plane is capable of carrying 189 passengers.

"We have no details about what has happened to the aircraft," Naikuni said.

The flight departed Douala at 12:05 a.m. and was to arrive in Nairobi at 6:15 a.m. The flight originated in Ivory Coast but stopped in Cameroon to pick up more passengers, the airline said.

The airline opened a crisis management center near the airport. Relatives of those on the plane were instructed to go to a downtown airport, where they would be provided information as it became available.

The last crash of an international Kenya Airways flight was on Jan. 30, 2000, when Flight 431 was taking off from Abidjian, Ivory Coast, on its way to Nairobi. Investigators blamed a faulty alarm and pilot error for that crash, which killed 169 people.

---

[stuart schechter]

So they can't see it on any of their radars?

[AirtrafficController]

the natives propably see the flames or smoke

[Matt Molnar]

Still no sign of it, search called off due to darkness. It was a brand new 738 delivered about six months ago.

[DHG750R]

So they can't see it on any of their radars?

Unfortunately most of Africa besides terminal areas do not have any ATC radar coverage , they rely on position reports . You'd be surprised how many places in the world are still that way.

[Nonstop2AUH]

IIRC this would be first total loss of a 737NG in a single aircraft inflight incident. Can anyone confirm this?

[Iberia A340-600]

IIRC this would be first total loss of a 737NG in a single aircraft inflight incident. Can anyone confirm this?

Don't forget the GOL 737-800.

[T-Bird76]

IIRC this would be first total loss of a 737NG in a single aircraft inflight incident. Can anyone confirm this?

Don't forget the GOL 737-800.

GOL wasn't a single aircraft incident, it collided with another plane leading to the crash. 737s just don't fall out of the sky especially new ones, I'd bet this might be a similar incident or gross pilot error

[LGA777]

Allthough still no reports on survivores or condtion of the aircraft the wreckage was found only SIX miles from the airport at Dulua where it departed and it took them 40 hours to find it.

LGA777

[Ari707]

it was found in a lake