Overview
- Kenyan authorities said the Eurocopter EC130 B4 crashed at 9:13 a.m. on Wednesday while flying from Loisaba Conservancy toward the Ewaso Nyiro area and that all seven people on board were killed.
- The flight was operated by Lady Lori Helicopters as a charter for luxury tour company &Beyond, and Tropic Air Kenya dispatched helicopters to help search and recovery after earlier reports misidentified the operator.
- U.S. and Ecuadorian officials confirmed victims among the dead, with the U.S. State Department saying multiple American citizens died and Ecuador naming its intelligence chief and his wife as victims; a senior Telemundo executive was also publicly identified.
- Rescue and recovery teams used drones and aircraft but faced steep, remote terrain and active post‑crash fire that slowed access to the wreckage and left parts of the site still burning during operations.
- The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and the government’s Air Accident Investigation Department have opened a formal probe that will examine maintenance, operational records and weather as the crash renews scrutiny of helicopter safety on tourist routes.