Deputy President William Ruto visited the family of his departed pilot Captain Mario Magonga at their Karen Home on Friday.
” Captain Mario Magonga was an accomplished, disciplined and reliable pilot, who loved his job. He was friendly, humble and given to banter. Captain Magonga was charitable, intelligent and had impeccable credentials. He will be sorely missed. ” Ruto said through a statement on his Twitter handle.
Captain Magonga crashed in a helicopter in Turkana County on 4th March killing him with all his 4 passengers on board.
Their bodies were found in the wreckage by a KWS search mission on Monday morning.
Kitutu Chache South MP Richard Onyonka, a relative of the deceased, stated that the chopper was reported to have gone off the radar on Sunday night, prompting the dispatch of a search mission.
“He (Magonga) went off the radar and they were unable to trace him until about 2am when they found his wreckage. The only thing we know is he was the one flying the helicopter,” he told NTV.
“Available information indicates that two helicopters had landed earlier at Lobolo tented camp on the National Park’s Island, however one managed to clear the area safely,” read a statement by the National Police Service.
The cause of the crash is yet to be established and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) is investigating the matter.