A UPDF helicopter that last week crash- landed in Fort Portal has returned to the skies after repairs, the army has said.
The chopper, an Mi-24 gunship made an emergency landing at a house in Fort Portal City in Kabarole district but its escaped unhurt.
The gunship was one of the three that had just taken off from the nearby Saaka airfield when it made an emergency landing.
However, in a statement released on Wednesday evening, the UPDF spokesperson, Brig Felix Kulayigye said the chopper had been worked upon and returned to the skies.
“Our MI 24 attack helicopter that had made an emergency landing in Fort Portal has been recovered. Thanks to our team of technicians from Air Force,” Brig Kulayigye said in a brief statement.
In an accompanying video, the chopper is seen taking to the skies while soldiers celebrate the feat.
The development comes a few days after another Ugandan army chopper crashed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to the sources, the ill fated Mi-17 helicopter, which is mainly used for transportation, medical evacuation and VIP travel, had just delivered food consignment to the troops engaged in Operation Shujaa when it tumbled and exploded during take-off.
“Multiple sources said the Mi-17 helicopter did not land on first attempt in Congo because the cleared helicopter landing zone, or HLZ, on the ground was smaller than the recommended 50-by-50 metre area. The pilots were radioed to return on the understanding that the landing area had been expanded, and the helicopter landed smoothly. However, during lift-off, the tail rotor hit a tree, yanking the machine to spin before slamming to the ground,” Daily Monitor reported.
Whereas it was reported that Ukrainian national Yury Vyshykvy who was in charge of the chopper died on the spot while the Ugandan pilot, Capt Patrick Arinaitwe, and five other crew members sustained various injuries, the report didn’t indicate the other victims of the accident.
On Wednesday, Reuters quoting an unnamed Congolese army spokesman reported that 22 people had been killed in incident but didn’t give details of the same.
The Ugandan army has not opened up on the incident and the identities of the victims of the crash.
Preliminary findings attribute the crash to technical errors. This publication understands that the crew manning the ill-fated helicopter had specifically been trained to fly Mi-28, Uganda’s latest and more modern fire-power acquisition in the sky.
According to knowledgeable sources, three of the UPDAF choppers had flown out to Fort Portal in a formation, before one which had two people on board dropped from the skies. The two others landed successfully. No casualties were reported.
The UPDF Mountain division spokesperson, Maj Peter Mugisa said the UPDF constructions engineers have since been contacted to help repair the damaged house belonging to Ms Peruth Kabarwani.
Ms Kabarwani said: “I was inside the house alone, I heard people making an alarm. I moved outside to see, I found the helicopter had destroyed my kitchen and part of my house.”
Ms Mary Mbabazi, the daughter of Kabarwani, said on December 30, 2021, another helicopter that was taking off from the same airfield also damaged their house and blew off the iron sheets of the local church.
“We reported the matter to all concerned authorities, UPDF officials called us and promised to compensate us but up to now we are still waiting and again the same incident has happened,” she said.
Mr Jeroresi Insigoma, a resident, said the helicopter crash also destroyed part of his banana plantation and other fruit trees.
“This time we need compensation. It is not the first time our properties are being destroyed by a helicopter landing on the airfield, it’s true we are neighbouring the airfield but the land belongs to us, we have nowhere to go,” he said.
