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Why chopper hinged on same spot in Nairobi


Nairobians went into panic mode Tuesday night after a helicopter hinged on the same spot for almost a half an hour.

Curious Nairobians took to social media to let their friends know of the “siege”.

The helicopter, which did not have a spotlight as was the case a few years ago, was spotted above Moi Avenue, Kasarani and Forest Road.

A source tells Nairobi News that the helicopter was one of the newly acquired police choppers, which have cutting edge technology to bust crime. It was being put to test publicly for the first Tuesday night, the source added.

NIGHT-VISION EQUIPMENT

The Sh683 million Agusta Westland helicopter has forward looking cameras that senses infrared radiation to help the pilot manoeuvre at night and in fog. They also have a search light of up to 1,600 watts.

Everything on the helicopter is operated digitally, and they are fitted with moving maps. They have advanced night-vision equipment, and are equipped for both Visual Flight Rating and Instrument Flight Rating to enable them to fly during the day and at night.

They also have two turbo shaft engines, model TV3-117BM, each with Shaft Horsepower of 2240. The maximum take-off weight is 13 tons, and a cruise of 157 knots with speed of 300kmh.

Here are a few tweets from curious Kenyans: