BY MWANAHABARI REPORTER
Kenya Airways may have to pay hefty fine – besides the embarrassment it has caused – after 2 Euro-fighter jets intercepted one of its planes in the German skies.
Indeed, Kenya Airways has confirmed that flight KQ-118 flying to the Netherlands from Kenya lost contact with the Air Traffic Control while flying over Germany.
The September 20 incident sent shock waves down the spines of the Kenya Airways bosses. The good news is that the plane – a Boeing 787-8 Dream liner restored communication and was able to continue with its journey – but not before Germany military tracked the plane to ‘wake the pilots up.
“The incident is not uncommon in aviation, as aircraft may occasionally lose contact with the Air Traffic Center for a number of reasons: power failure when flying in areas with poor reception or a missed frequency change,” a statement from the national career read.
Why military planes are deployed
Ideally, the air space is divided into several pockets, with aircraft required to seek permission from the country’s Air Traffic Control Center to ensure safe and authorized passage.
In the event that a plane enters an air space without seeking permission from the Air Traffic Center of that particular air space – despite filling a flight path plan – military intervention may be engaged.
Some pilots tend to forget to communicate their presence – which happens sometimes as pilots have a lot of things to do that they end up forgetting that they may have crossed into another airspace.
The military are always deployed to ‘wake up’ the pilots and ask them to re-establish communication with the Traffic Control Center.
Can a military jet shoot down passenger plane?
Nearly 99.9 per cent of military interceptions – like the one involving Kenya Airways – end up peacefully with the plane allowed to proceed with their travel once they have established contacts with the command center.
The military jets are never deployed with express directive to shoot down a straying/strange plane. The jets are there to ensure the country is safe.
Only when it is established that a plane has been turned into a weapon – can deployed military jets with permission be allowed to shoot it down to avoid massive catastrophe like was the case in the 9/11.
Kenya Airways says it has launched investigations into the incident and assured its clients of safety.
The incident – like is usually the tradition – may see Kenya Airways pay hefty fine.