Another Kuwait Airways Almost-Crash

Al Watan had video taken by a passenger on Kuwait Airways flight from Jeddah to Kuwait on July 7th with 186 souls on board an Airbus A300 (not my favorite plane).  One of the many aging 20+ year old planes still flown daily through heat and dust and in poor repair.

A Kuwaiti woman posted about  the video on Facebook saying,

“They were reciting the `Shahadas' on Islam- that usually means in such cases they fear it is the end, and in Islamic teaching, if those two Shahadas are the last thing you say you go straight to heaven. No, I felt the fear in the video- when men started reciting really loudly.”

One engine burst and the other one stopped working.You can hear the engine noise, people crying and praying as the pilot tries to land the plane safely (which he, Pilot Mohammad Al-Sarraf, accomplished  miraculously in Medina.).  The video respectfully does not show faces, but you can see that many of the passengers were wearing the religious clothing associated with a journey for Omra. 

Newspapers have reported that Kuwait Airways has "decided to ground several ageing planes for repeated malfunctions."  "They" have been talking about upgrading the fleet for HOW long?  It is just a matter of time before an entire flight of lives will have been lost due to a lack of urgency to get anything accomplished.  Their families will have to mourn.  Future generations of Kuwaitis will remember the day and think back sadly.  Is this really the outcome they want?

The last time I flew on Kuwait Scareways was in 2006.  Although there were no malfunctions (Thank God!) with the flights, they were definitely the worst flights I had ever taken:  On the direct flight to NY:  an Indian man in the seat behind me insisted on placing his dirty, stinky feet between the seats so that they would be next to me.  The flight attendant apparently didn't feel empowered enough to do anything about it.  On the return flight (London to Kuwait), Kuwaiti police brought a female prisoner on board who proceeded to cry in agony and plead for her life - even to fellow passengers - during the entire trip.  Obviously, she wasn't being extradited (if UK authorities even knew about it) for a petty crime. I was traumatized and couldn't stop crying for the next few days.  NOT a relaxing flight; although no where near as horrific as the flight from Jeddah.I am sure those poor people are going to be affected by it for a very long time.

July 11, 2012 Update

Arab Times

Many KAC planes not ‘fit’ for flying Passengers shifted to other airlines

KUWAIT CITY, July 10: Acting Minister of Communications, Social Affairs and Labor Salem Al-Utheina has submitted a comprehensive report on the Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) fleet to the interim Cabinet, reports Al-Jarida daily quoting sources.

Sources revealed that Al-Utheina stated in his report that many KAC airplanes do not meet the safety and security conditions; hence, they are not fit for flying. He asked acting Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak to quickly charter new planes to support the old fleet. He said KAC will refer passengers affected by the suspended flights to other airline companies, sources added.

Meanwhile, sources disclosed some parties have expressed concern over the future of the corporation, especially after Al-Utheina decided to ground five airplanes to protect people’s lives. They also want to know if KAC will be restructured or privatized to prevent further collapse.

Some experts pointed out the modernization of KAC’s fleet will not make any difference unless the company improves its reputation. They said it is better if the government presses ahead with the plan to privatize the company.

Other experts think the best way to address the problem is to restructure KAC before taking the necessary procedures for its privatization by converting it into a public company, which will be affiliated to the Ministry of Communications and under the supervision of the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA). They suggested the government can sell the company after restructuring but it should keep majority of the shares. They added the problem of KAC got worse when some MPs rejected the proposal to purchase new aircraft.

In a related development, Al-Watan Arabic daily has quoted Sheikh Salman Al-Otaibi, who was on board the KAC aircraft that malfunctioned recently, as saying the company does not care about the lives of passengers. He said the passengers, who were on their way to perform Omrah, survived through the mercy of Allah.

Sheikh Salman made the statement at a dinner party organized by his uncle in his diwaniya to celebrate his safe return from the so-called ‘flight of horror’. He unveiled his plan to file a lawsuit against the company, which is responsible for the lives of passengers. He also stressed the need to upgrade KAC’s fleet to prevent the recurrence of the horrible incident in the future.