Kenya Airways: Why Flight Made Emergency Landing After Turning Back Midair

National carrier Kenya Airways confirmed on Friday evening, December 15 that one of its flights bound for Dubai was forced to turn back midair and make an emergency landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi.

In a statement, the airline, operating under its code 'KQ', revealed that the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 registered as 5Y-CYD, was prompted to turn back one hour into its flight after JKIA staff discovered tyre debris on the runway.

"Kenya Airways PLC (KQ) confirms that on 15 December 2023 at approximately 21:20 HRS, JKIA Air Traffic Control encountered tyre debris during a regular runway inspection," stated KQ in part.

"Upon further inspection, it was established by the KQ operations team that the tyre debris was from KQ 310, which had departed on a scheduled operation from Nairobi to Dubai."

Screengrab of KQ 310's flight path as of December 15, 2023. /FLIGHTRADAR24

KQ further noted that its operations team contacted the crew and agreed on a precautionary air turnback to Nairobi for further technical attention.

The crew followed the precautionary safety procedures in consultation with operations control and returned to Nairobi safely, landing at 23:46 HRS (11.46 pm) without incident.

The passengers were provided with accommodation as arrangements were made to rebook them on the next available flight.

KQ however allayed fears that emerged on social media following the incident by assuring that air turnbacks are standard safety procedures in aviation and are implemented to ensure the well-being of passengers and crew.

"We sincerely apologize to our guests for the inconvenience and assure our customers that their safety and that of our crew is our highest priority," KQ added.

Spot checks by Viral Tea via multiple international aviation surveillance systems, including Flight Aware, revealed that the flight turned back just around Wajir and circled overhead over Machakos County eight times before landing back at JKIA.

KQ did not indicate whether there was jettisoning (fuel dumping) but the aircraft likely had to dump to attain the maximum required weight for safe landing. Nonetheless, the flight took off from JKIA at 8.47 pm and returned to Nairobi at 11.44 pm.

While air turnbacks are common procedures in aviation, tyre debris left on the runway can pose a great danger to aircraft taking off, hence the runway must be cleaned regularly.

Debris On Runway

Anytime aircraft take off or land, they leave tire tracks which accumulate on runways, causing serious safety hazards among other safety issues.

Firstly, tire tracks can cause damage to aircraft tires, which can lead to accidents. Secondly, they can reduce the traction of the runway, which can make it difficult for planes to take off or land safely.

Thirdly, they can accumulate debris and foreign objects, which can cause damage to the plane and its passengers, debris which is also referred to as Foreign Object Debris (FOD).

Additionally, tire tracks can affect the overall performance of the runway, which can hurt the airport’s reputation. If the runway is not maintained properly, it can lead to delays and cancellations, which can be costly for airlines and frustrating for passengers, with such damages estimated to cost the aerospace industry $4 billion (Ksh614.2 billion) a year.

An infamous example of how FOD has contributed to aircraft accidents is the loss of the Air France Concorde during take-off from Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport in 2000, which was attributed to a piece of metal on the runway.

The French Government's official investigation determined that the plane ran over a small strip of metal on the runway, causing a tyre to explode and disintegrate.

Tyre fragments, launched upwards at great speed by the rapidly spinning wheel, violently struck the underside of the wing, damaging parts of the landing gear – thus preventing its retraction – and causing the integral fuel tank to rupture in a chain reaction that culminated in the crash, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground.

Meanwhile, KQ said the incident is being thoroughly investigated, and necessary measures will be taken to prevent such occurrences in the future.