A week ago, motorists using the ever-congested Mombasa Road came face to face with a relic plane stuck at the Cabanas Flyover in Nairobi.
The rundown fuselage of the Boeing 5Y-KQK is again causing traffic snarl-ups on the Nairobi’s Eastern Bypass after the wide load truck that is transporting it developed mechanical problems.
What many people might not know is that the 45-year-old aircraft that had been stored at the Wilson Airport in Nairobi, and was among the oldies auctioned by Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) in November last year, has a colourful history.
According to Air Fleets, before Kenya Airways acquired the Boeing 737 – MSN 21714 – 5Y – KQK in 1998, it had passed through the hands of three different owners and was registered under different names.
First, it flew under Aer Lingus from April 1979, which is the flag carrier of Ireland, before they sold or leased it to East West Airlines India, who flew it for four years from January in 1993.
A rundown fuselage of a Boeing 5Y-KQK on truck along the Eastern Bypass on February 16, 2022.
In 1997, Aer Lingus re-acquired it for a few months before off-loading it to Flight Standardization Board (FSB), which is mandated to determine the requirements for pilot type ratings for the aircraft in question.
A year later, the two-engine plane landed in Kenya and flew for a decade before being stored in Nairobi in 2007.
The plane was among 73 uncollected junk aircraft that were auctioned by KAA last year at its four main airports as scrap metal for prices as low as Sh5,000.
The plane has a wingspan of about 60 metres and an overall length of 56.7 metres. It also has an interior cabin width of 5.4 metres and a diameter of 5.91 metres.
KAA invited interested bidders for planes that had overstayed at their yards at the Jomo Kenyatta, Moi, Wilson and Lokichoggio airports.
Only nine of the 73 junk planes – which were mainly to be used as scrap metal — were auctioned at more than Sh1 million, with the most expensive plane being sold at Sh25 million.
A rundown fuselage of a Boeing 5Y-KQK on truck along the Eastern Bypass on February 16, 2022.
Some of the aircraft that lay uncollected at the airports belonged to Somali Air Force, Jetlink, Skyward, Eagle Aviation, Prestige Aviation, Fly540, Pan Africa Airways and Planes for Africa.
According to KAA, the B737-200- 5Y-KQK belonged to Aerospace Consortium and its auction starting price was Sh406,800. After purchase, it was stored at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
KAA had said that all the purchased items should be paid for and collected from respective KAA premises within seven days from the date of the auction, failing which the authority would charge storage at the rate of Sh10,000 per day until collection.
Yesterday, the driver of the truck transporting the fuselage with tail registration 5Y-KQK told Nation the owner planned to convert it to a hotel.
The truck was yesterday along Eastern bypass. The driver said he had been on the road since last weekend as the truck can only be on the road between 6am and 6pm. BY DAILY NATION