Kenya Army helicopter with two pilots crashes in Machakos

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Machakos plane crash

What you need to know:

  • The army did not give details about the victims but Machakos Sub-county Commander Karanja Muiruri said two KDF officers died.
  • The chopper was one of six acquired from the United States in January, through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme.

A Kenya Army helicopter on a training flight crashed on Monday at Kithyoko in Machakos County, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) has reported.

KDF said via Twitter that two pilots were evacuated from the site following the crash of the aircraft, Hughes 500MD.

The army did not give details about the victims but Machakos Sub-county Commander Karanja Muiruri said two KDF officers died.

“I received information from the public … my officers responded on time,” said Mr Karanja.

He praised the army for its quick response, saying its officers arrived in about 20 minutes.

A statement from Kithyoko Police Station stated that the aircraft crashed in a farm about 15km away from the station.

It said the two people on board, senior military officers of the rank of major, died and that Masinga police bosses visited the scene.

The incident took place at around 11.30am at Kanyonga.

The chopper was one of six acquired from the United States in January, through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme.