Uganda’s Prime Minister in helicopter crash landing.
An Augusta A119 Koala similar to accident aircraft. (Photo by Dmitry A Mottl. Creative Commons 3.0)
Uganda’s Prime Minister, Professor Apolo Robin Nsibambi, survived a helicopter crash yesterday (March 8, 2010) in the Buguri district on the eastern side of the country. The accident, which involved an Augusta A119 Koala helicopter (registration 5X-MAC), happened just before 3 PM local time while seven people travelled on board.
According to reports, the helicopter was travelling from Uganda’s border with Kenya to the capital Kampala when the accident happened. Survivors state that the helicopter crew informed the passengers to prepare for an emergency landing and almost immediately the aircraft began to gyrate. It crash landed, conveniently, next to a hospital after striking a tree.
Back in April, this same helicopter had reportedly been involved in another incident in Arua, a town in northwestern Uganda. While witnesses claim the helicopter crash landed in that occasion, police officials (this is a police helicopter) claimed it was a regular refueling stop. Uganda’s Civil Aviation Authority will investigate yesterday’s accident.
Along with the prime minister, the other survivors in the crash were Pius Bigirimana, Rose Oyella, Apollo Munghinda, Peter Isabirye, (pilot) Emmanuel Busuulwa, and (copilot) Elijah Matovu. The pilot is reported to have received serious injuries, while the 72 year-old prime minister suffered backaches.
Interestingly enough, the Vice President of Kenya, whom Nsibambi was supposed to meet at the border, failed to make the encounter because his helicopter suffered a similar problem. The VP of Kenya was presenting Uganda with relief donations. Is this some kind of conspiracy or just an indication of the state of aircraft airworthiness in African aviation?
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