UPDF names pilots killed in helicopter crash

UPDF has identified the two Air Force officers who died the multiple helicopter crashes in Kenya as Capt. William Letti and Lt Patrick Nahamya.

Army spokesperson Col. Felix Kulayigye said in a statement Wednesday morning Letti and Nahamya were pilot and co-pilot of helicopter no AF 806, MI-24.

The choppers went up in flames as they crashed in the jungles of Mt. Kenya. The two bodies, burnt beyond recognition, were retrieved from the cockpit. Meanwhile another body has been discovered bringing the number of the dead to three. The serviceman is yet to be named.

“The Ministry of Defence and the UPDF regret to inform the country of the tragic demise of our comrades Captain William Letti and Lt Patrick Nahamya who died in a helicopter accident in Mt Kenya areas,” Kulayigye wrote in the press statement.

The search for the other five crew members still continues, he said. He condoled the bereaved families, adding that “Our hearts are with those family members whose dear ones we are still searching for.”

Kulayigye also promised to continue to keep the country abreast of the developments about the incident.

The three Mi-24 choppers that crashed were part of a fleet of four that left Soroti on Sunday to Garissa enroute for Somalia for war with the Al-Shabaab militants.

They landed at Eldoret and later left for Nanyuki where they were scheduled to refuel before flying to Garissa. While one helicopter made it to Garissa as scheduled three went missing.

President Yoweri Museveni yesterday appointed his advisor on defence, Gen. Caleb Akandwanaho alias Salim Saleh, to head investigations into the incident.

The board of inquiry also comprises of the chief of legal services in the UPDF, Col. Ramadan Kyamuresire and Eng. Dick Lutaaya of the Air Force, among others, according to state minister for defence, Gen. Jeje Odongo.