Kenya Airways explains why Nairobi-Dar plane was rerouted

Dar es Salaam. Passengers aboard a Kenya Airways plane bound for Dar es Salaam tweeted on Friday October 4 over a mid-air emergency that forced the pilot to reroute to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

The ordeal was revealed in a tweet posted by one of the passengers upon landing safely back to Nairobi, alleging that the incident had been caused by engine failure.  

However, Kenya Airways today (Saturday October 5) issued a statement to clarify the incident. Kenya Airways said KQ484 which was airborne for Dar-Es-Salaam made a return to Nairobi after its oxygen masks dropped.

“We confirm that the cause of the oxygen masks dropping was due to a faulty switch that triggered the drop, and not attributed to decompression of the aircraft or engine failure,” said the statement.

“Decompression occurs when the cabin altitude rises to above 10,000 feet. The cabin altitude at the time of the occurrence was 8,000 feet, which is the standard and acceptable measure,” KQ explained.

“As a standard safety precaution, our crew took the decision to return to Nairobi,” said the statement issued by Mr Chris Wangalwa, Associate Consultant- Corporate Communication

“Alternative flight provisions were made for the passengers who were aboard the flight,” he added in the statement