Pilot taking kids to school makes emergency landing

By Marion Ndung’u

A chopper made an emergency landing in Mathira after the pilot encountered bad weather.

Allan Root the pilot, was flying his two children Myles and Lory Root to Nairobi’s Banda School when bad weather made visibility difficult forcing him to land on an arrow root farm on Monday morning.

“I could not continue flying without endangering our life,” said Root.

Speaking at the scene, Myles, 11, said he had not panicked, as he was used to using choppers.

Root said that the weather was fine when they left their Lewa home and it only got cloudy later.

Eyewitnesses said the aircraft registration 5Y-OYO was flying low and made a few rounds in the air perhaps looking for a landing space before landing in the mushy farm.

Mathira deputy OCPD James Kazumba said people had rushed to the scene in a bid to save anyone fearing the helicopter had crashed.

The helicopter later proceeded with the journey after the pilot said the weather had cleared up enough for him to fly.

The owner of the farm Mary Muthoni said she was only thankful that nobody had been hurt and that the helicopter had not crashed.

Minutes after the take off a group of villager’s gathered in prayer.

The incident comes barely a week after a chopper crashed in Ngong forest killing six people among them internal security minister George Saitoti and his assistant minister Orwa Ojodeh.