Kenya Airways flight to New York malfunctions mid-air over Chad. Plane makes an emergency return to Nairobi
And as a result, the Dreamliner with registration number 5Y-KZH travelling at the ground speed of 484 knots was forced to turn back for an emergency landing in Nairobi.
Black News 
It was quite a nightmare in the sky when a Kenya Airways flight to New York malfunctioned mid-air and forced to make an about turn back to Nairobi.
The Kenya Airways Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight KQ002D was flying from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi, traveling with its destination mapped to the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York when something happened in the air.
In an official statement which followed, the management of the Kenya Airways (KQ) confirmed the incident.
“Kenya Airways PLC (KQ) confirms that on 5 July 2026, at around 19:50 hours, a KQ flight KQ 002D which was traveling from Nairobi to New York experienced a flight controls spoiler malfunction while flying over Chad,” reads the official statement.
And as a result, the Dreamliner with registration number 5Y-KZH travelling at the ground speed of 484 knots was forced to turn back for an emergency landing in Nairobi.
“For the safety of our guests and crew onboard, the crew followed precautionary safety checks and elected to return to Nairobi for further technical evaluation by our teams,” the airline maintained.
As far as they were concerned, the malfunctioned aircraft was expected to land safely in Nairobi on the 6th of July 2026 at about 00:30 hours, or thirty minutes after midnight.
If the Boeing Dreamliner had made it to New York it was expected to land at JFK International by 12.42 hours.
Kenya Airways management said the company sincerely apologizes to their customers for the inconvenience caused and assured them that their safety and that of the airline crew were their highest priority.
According to the airline, they were also going to assist their customers with their travel itinerary on the next available flight and as soon as possible.
“Spoiler malfunctions are rare but can occur, and they cause increased drag and fuel consumption,” pointed out the Kenya Airways statement.
“Our pilots are trained to proficiently handle these scenarios safely, and air turn backs are standard safety procedures.”
