Ambitious aviation student invents safety gadget

Kevin Maina who has been interested in technology since his school days and his innovation. [PHOTO: KAMUZU BANDA/STANDARD]

NAIROBI, KENYA: Aeronautical engineering and piloting are among the most sought after careers in Kenya mainly because of the monetary appeal and fascination with flying. It was the same for Kevin Maina long before he joined Kitengela Boys’ Secondary School in 2006.

However, he was more interested in flight technology and safety. It helped that Kevin’s father was already an aeronautical engineer, as inspiration was closer home.

On completing secondary school, Kevin enrolled at the Trans African Aviation College where he is a few months away from graduating as an aeronautical engineer and pilot.

However, his being at the institution also gave him the platform to innovate and the result has been a piece of technology dubbed the the ‘Plane Bug’, which has attracted some interest in the aviation industry locally.

“When airplanes crash, engineers and investigators have to locate the black box, which takes a while to find and even longer to decode so that the probable cause of the accident is determined. I researched and came up with the Plane Bug to try and address this delay,” explains Kevin.

The Plane Bug is a gadget the size of a mobile phone. It is an added feature on the plane but does not interfere with any of the aircraft’s operations. It records key features like the plane’s speed, altitude, conversations in the cockpit, and even uses the Google 3D projection to record the happenings inside the plane. Some of the key technologies he has infused in the Plane Bug includes Global Positioning System (GPS), accelerometer, gyroscope, transceiver, SD card, microphone, camera, speaker, battery, digital barometric pressure sensor and GSM.

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Most of the key parts of the gadgets, including the electrical circuits, have been sourced from the US, making the cost of one unit Sh86,000. Also, since the gadget doesn’t interfere with the plane’s operations, he doesn’t need a licence from the Civil Aviation Authority but rather the approval of plane owners.

“The information is recorded and relayed to a computer, tablet or even mobile phone on the ground, making it easy to track all key information to do with the airplane that can prove very important for its safety,” adds the 23-year-old.

With this gadget, you can monitor the plane from the time it takes off to the time it lands in real time. Even better, you can monitor the happenings in different sections of the plane.

Kevin’s innovation has been tried and tested in both an Unmanned Ariel Vehicle (UAV) and an actual plane during last year’s Airshow held at Wilson Airport in Nairobi, with high levels of success.

Some key people in the aviation sector who have been impressed by this innovation include Rob Linck, the chairman of Aero Club of East Africa, and Allan Oliver, the chief engineer of Air Kenya. Officials from the Ministry of Transport’s airline investigation unit have also developed a keen interest in it.

“My dream is to play a role, however small, in improving air safety, hence my determination with this innovation. It needs a lot of financial commitment and I am just glad that my parents have been kind enough to support me. I am hoping that I will get some financial support to go into commercial production,” says Kevin.