Overview
- A Eurocopter EC130 B4 carrying six passengers and one pilot crashed near Mount Ololokwe while flying from Loisaba Conservancy toward the Ewaso Nyiro area, officials said, with Kenyan police confirming the accident occurred at about 9:13 a.m. on Wednesday.
- All seven people on board died and the U.S. State Department confirmed five American citizens were among the victims while Ecuador identified its intelligence chief Michele Sensi-Contugi and his wife as also killed.
- The aircraft was operated as a charter by local firm Lady Lori Helicopters for guests travelling with luxury tour company &Beyond, and Tropic Air Kenya dispatched helicopters to assist the response but was not the operator.
- Search and recovery teams faced rugged terrain, inaccessible ground and active fire at the scene, and rescuers used aerial support to locate the wreckage and recover bodies over the following days.
- Kenya’s Civil Aviation Authority and the Transport Ministry’s Air Accident Investigation Department are leading the probe, a development that sharpens scrutiny of small‑aircraft and helicopter safety for safari transport in the country.