Chief Pilot Now Says Plane Went Down Immediately After Takeoff

Rain and swamp water continue to hamper recovery efforts at the site of downed Kenya Airways Flight 507 in Mbanga-Pongo, Cameroon... and speculation is running rampant as to what may have brought the six-month-old Boeing 737 down, and when.

The jet is submerged in the swamp just three miles from the end of the runway where it took off early Saturday on a flight from Douala to Nairobi, Kenya, according to the Associated Press. Failed attempts to pump the water away from the passenger jet have all but been abandoned.

Xavier Clotaire Noa, a Cameroonian firefighter and search foreman, said the muddy hole where the plane fell was "inundated with water." Pumps initially installed to suck out the water have been turned off.

"We tried to empty it a few times but the water keeps coming back in," he said.

A source close to the airline's investigation, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity, said Monday the early investigation has focused on a theory the plane lost power in both engines, and did not have enough altitude to glide back to the airport -- perhaps due to the storm that had already delayed the flight for more than an hour prior to departure.

Kenya Airways chief Pilot James Ouma held a Nairobi news conference on Tuesday. He said the Kenyan crash investigators at the site now believe Flight 507, a six-month-old Boeing 737-800, crashed about 30 seconds after takeoff. Initial reports said contact with the aircraft was lost 11-13 minutes into flight.

This discrepancy could not immediately be explained.

Ouma noted the wreckage was found on the flight path and close to the airport. Procedures for total power loss call for the pilot to attempt a return to the airport along a similar path.

The plane crashing nose-first is consistent with a plane stalling as a pilot tried to coax it along the glide path, Ouma added.

As ANN reported, locating the wreckage was difficult, and ultimately took nearly two days to find it as it was in an inaccessible area of swamps and forest, concealed by a thick covering of trees.

Further slowing search and rescue attempts was the emergency locator transmitter having stopped emitting signals after the initial distress call for as-yet unknown reasons. Thomas Sobakam, chief of meteorology for Douala airport, said officials were also led astray by an incorrect satellite signal, possibly emitted from the plane.

Cameroon officials have not yet indicated where the flight data recorder will be examined. Kenyan officials said Tuesday they would prefer the examination be done in Canada, but acknowledge the decision was up to Cameroon.

Since arriving at the crash site, rescue workers have divided into teams, one gathering personal effects and a second, human remains recovery. As of late Tuesday, 29 bodies have been found according to Titus Naikuni, chief executive of Kenya Airways. Sobakam said several positive identifications have already been made based on identification found with individual remains.

Family members have been barred from the site to help preserve evidence, officials said.

Naikuni said US experts and a British-led team of forensic scientists were expected to arrive Tuesday night to aid in the investigation.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki declared a national day of mourning Monday and offered condolences in a televised address.

"I wish you the strength and courage to overcome the tragic loss of your loved ones," he said.

Air travel in Africa is notoriously perilous, but Kenya Airways is considered one of Africa's safest airlines, said the AP. The last crash of an international Kenya Airways flight was on January 30, 2000, when an Airbus A310 was taking off from Abidjan, Ivory Coast, enroute to Nairobi. A faulty alarm and pilot error were blamed for that crash, which killed 169 people.

FMI: www.kenya-airways.com