Former President Daniel Moi’s official jet once delayed to take off after it developed mechanical problems after he had boarded.
The year was 2002 and Moi had just settled into the presidential Fokker 70 ER jet, ready to travel to Australia for the 17th Commonwealth Head of States Summit.
Just moments after 8am, the scheduled departure time, the door jammed and could not close, therefore quick interventions had to be arranged.
Everyone on board including the Head of State was asked to disembark and was ushered back into the presidential lounge at JKIA.
Warrant Officer William Mase Ng’etich had earlier overseen the jet’s arrival and conducted all the necessary checks but the jammed door caught the team off guard.
“The incident was one of its kind and we had to use the least time possible,” Ng’etich told journalists from The Standard.
“We opened the plane’s belly and from our analysis, the door switch had failed to lift it up and close. Such an action deserved first-line service. Our air force team were motioned to fly the spare parts from Moi Airbase Eastleigh as we began to remove the faulty switch,” recalled the now retired airforce soldier.
The technical team changed the gadget that had overheated in a record 30 minutes owing to the urgency of Moi’s travel plans.
“We were later informed that he (Moi) had arrived safely and that our repair mission had been a success,” recounted Ng’etich, adding that unknown to them, Moi took note and they were later awarded Head of State Commendations for their expertise.
The Fokker 70 ER, delivered to Kenya in 1995 from the Netherlands, is the same aircraft used by President Uhuru Kenyatta. He also uses a Bombardier Dash 8 and Aerospatiale Puma for domestic travel.