Helicopter Crash In Kenya Kills 4 US Citizens

UPDATE: 5:00 a.m. EST — The U.S. Embassy confirmed the deaths of the four citizens in the helicopter crash in Kenya. They also released three of the four names: Anders Asher Jesiah Burke, Brandon Howe Strapper and Kyle John Forti. The name of the fourth person was not revealed.

Original story:

A Kenyan pilot along with four tourists from the United States were killed Sunday evening in a helicopter crash near Central Island National Park in Lake Turkana, Kenya.

The pilot was identified as Mario Magonga while the identities of the tourists were not revealed. He was one of the pilots for Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto. The tourists were visiting Lobolo Tented Camp and were flying back when the chopper crashed. They were in the company of another helicopter that took off safely.

“Last evening at about 8 p.m., [12 p.m. EST], a helicopter crashed at Central Island National Park in Lake Turkana, killing all its five occupants on board. Security personnel dispatched to the scene confirmed that among the five were four Americans and the Kenyan pilot,” Police spokesman Charles Owino said in a statement to the media.

Magonga’s chopper went off the radar while it was flying near Lake Turkana, according to one of his relatives, Richard Onyonka, a lawmaker from Kitutu Chache South. Magonga was the only one flying the helicopter. The disappearance from the radar led to a search mission. The bodies and the wreckage of the chopper were found at 4 a.m. Monday morning. Security teams were dispatched to the scene to help with the recovery of the bodies and the wreck. The cause of the crash was not yet determined. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority was investigating the incident.

Magonga was an ex-military pilot and was from Nyamataro, Kitutu Chache South, in Kisii County. Magonga was working with KIDL helicopters based at Wilson Airport in Nairobi. He joined the company in 2017 as an airline transport pilot and was a qualified helicopter instructor trained in the Kenya Defense Forces. He had more than 5,500 hours of experience on single and multi-engine type choppers. He also worked with Tropic Air Kenya until June 2015 and was described as an “exceptional helicopter pilot,” a “source of strength, laughter and spirit, both in the office and in the air” by Tropic Air.

Police said the identities of the other crash victims will be revealed after their families were informed.