Crash of a De Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide in Butiaba
Date & Time:
Jan 24, 1954
Operator:
Registration:
VP-KEA
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Butiaba – Entebbe
MSN:
6890
YOM:
1945
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The American writer Ernest Hemingway and his wife Mary were completing a safari in the region of the Muchison Falls in Uganda when their Cessna 180 registered VP-KLI hit a utility pole and crashed in a field on January 23. As they were wounded, it was decided to transfer them to Entebbe and a DH.89 of East African Airways was chartered. While taking off from Butiaba Airstrip, the Dragon exploded and crashed in flames. The aircraft was destroyed and all four occupants were seriously injured and burned.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the mishap remains unclear.
