Kampala- Ugandas participation on the Somalia mission has not been without controversy. From the outset, it has been classed as nothing more than an attempt by the present government to curry favor with the powers that be. While I have my issues with respect to solving the Somali problem, we are where we are and, the benefits to the UPDF in terms of broadening and deepening their skill set have been immense.
So it was with great fanfare that the air component was flagged off from Soroti flying school. Three attack helicopters and one utility helicopter were flagged off for Somalia. Monday brought with it the sad news that three of the four choppers were missing, pretty soon the worst was confirmed, they had gone down on or around the mountains outside Nanyuki Airbase.
At a personal level, the loss to the families cannot be comprehended, death comes to us all but this is a massive, massive blow. The skill set that has gone down with those men is also something that will be sorely missed. However, in the grand scheme of things skills and equipment can be replaced, it will take time but they will be replaced.
The number one question on all our minds is what happened? by far the most cogent answer has come from Mike Mukula who argued the route chosen was less than ideal in fact the route chosen was a disaster in the making. Why? The service ceiling for the choppers in question is 4500M, at its highest point Mount Kenya is 5200M, basic maths tells you the rest.
Over and above the issue of the service ceiling, is the fact that flying through mountains is a challenge even for the most experienced pilots. At high altitudes engine performance suffers, thin mountain air affects the ability of most aircraft to gain and maintain altitude. It is not uncommon for older helicopters to stall in midair at high altitudes.
To compensate for this most fliers do one of two things. They derate the engines by this we mean the engines are tuned in such a way that they can operate optimally in suboptimal conditions.
Apart from derating the engines, some of them go ahead to tweak the power to weight ratios, by this we mean they use engines far more powerful in comparison to the weight they will be carrying. The net effect of these changes is, in the thin mountain air the helicopters are able to fly.
What was the status of this equipment? Were the machines kitted out for high altitude flying? What about the men? Were they prepared for the physical and physiological impact of high altitude flying?
The Chief of Land forces has gone on record to say the route chosen was reconnoitred in detail, I have no reason to believe he is lying, but as any soldier will tell you, more often than not, there is a huge difference between our assumptions and plans and the reality on the ground. The cost the institution has paid in blood and equipment is pretty high, our only prayer is that the lessons learnt, any lessons learnt will be put to good use.
