Capt Caroline Busingye: Pilot succumbs to injuries after UPDF chopper crash

The army has announced that the pilot of the ill-fated chopper has died from hospital where she was rushed after the Thursday accident.

Two cadet trainees were seriously injured and rushed to Kisubi hospital on Thursday after a jet ranger that they were piloting crashed immediately after takeoff in Entebbe.

However, according to the UPDF spokesperson, Brig Flavia Byekwaso, Capt Carol Busingye later succumbed to accident injuries sustained during the accident.

“It is with sadness that we announce the passing on of Capt Caroline Busingye after she was involved in a plane crash in Entebbe. We commiserate with the family of the late and the UPDF Airforce fraternity during this very difficult moment,”Byekwaso said.

According to the accident photos, the chopper fell on its right hand side where Busingye was seated and this could partly explain her succumbing to the accident injuries.

Photos also show the blue chopper was shattered into pieces .

Busingye becomes the third UPDF officer killed in a chopper crash in a space of one year.

In January last year, Maj Naomi Karungi who had served as a pilot since 2005 died together with her cadet pilot, Benon Wokalu when a UPDAF Jet Ranger that they were piloting on a training mission crash in Ndeese hill, Butawuka Parish in Bulo Sub-county in Butambala.

The accident comes a few days after four UPDF soldiers were severely injured in a helicopter crash in Somalia last week while on a mission to support ground troops in the Lower Shabelle region.

.