Jose Suarez, president and general manager of Telemundo’s Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers stations, was killed Wednesday when a helicopter crashed in a remote, mountainous region of northern Kenya, NBCUniversal confirmed.
Suarez, 55, a Florida native, was one of five Americans among seven people killed when the aircraft went down near Mount Ololokwe in Samburu County around 9:13 a.m. local time, according to Kenya’s Civil Aviation Authority. He was identified in an internal memo to NBCUniversal employees signed jointly by News Group Chairman Cesar Conde, NBCU Local Chairman Valari Staab and Telemundo station group president Jose Cancela, a copy of which was obtained by Variety.
“We are heartbroken to share the tragic news that Jose Suarez… was killed in a helicopter accident in Kenya,” the memo read, describing him as a deeply respected leader and beloved friend and colleague across NBCU Local and NBCU News Group.
What We Know So Far
The memo said Suarez was an exceptional colleague and mentor who cared deeply about his teams, the communities they served, and the role his stations played in people’s lives. It described him as bringing energy, humor, warmth and a strong sense of purpose to his work, adding that his impact extended far beyond the stations he led and that the sudden circumstances of his death made the loss especially difficult to comprehend.
Suarez spent nearly 20 years at NBCUniversal across a series of station leadership roles. He previously served as president and general manager of Telemundo stations in Fresno, California (KNSO), Sacramento, California (KCSO), Salt Lake City and Las Vegas (KULX), and San Antonio, Texas (Telemundo 60), before relocating to Florida to simultaneously lead Telemundo 31 in Orlando, Telemundo 49 in Tampa, and Telemundo’s Fort Myers-Naples station. In those roles, he oversaw the full scope of station operations, including news and digital content, sales, marketing and promotions, human resources, community affairs, and technology.
Before joining NBCUniversal, Suarez worked in Miami at NBC 6/WTVJ, where he held roles including director of creative services and local programming, executive producer of the station’s local entertainment show “6 in the Mix,” and executive producer of its weekday newscasts. He also held earlier digital media roles at NBC 6 and Telemundo 51 in Miami. Earlier still, he worked as news director at CW South Florida/WSFL, Fox Toledo/WUPW, and NBC 3 San Angelo/KSAN in Texas. He had been a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists since 1998, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Over the course of his career, Suarez received a 2019 Lone Star Emmy for overall excellence while serving as president and general manager of Telemundo 60 San Antonio, a Suncoast Chapter Emmy for outstanding station promotion image during his time at NBC 6, three Cleveland chapter Emmys for outstanding daily newscast in the Market 41-plus category, and multiple Associated Press awards for his work at Fox Toledo/WUPW.
The Crash
Kenya’s Civil Aviation Authority said the helicopter, a Eurocopter EC130 B4 registered as 5Y-GYM, was flying toward the Ewaso Nyiro river, which runs through the Samburu National Reserve, when it went down. Samburu Police Commander David Nkoroi confirmed all seven people aboard, six passengers and the pilot, had died.
The aircraft was operated by Lady Lori Helicopters, which said in a statement that it was carrying guests of luxury tour operator andBeyond on a charter flight. “Our deepest sympathies are with the guests, crew, their families and loved ones, and all those affected by this tragic accident,” the company said, adding that it was fully cooperating with investigators.
Kenya’s Red Cross said search and recovery efforts were hampered by difficult terrain access and an active fire at the crash site, prompting the deployment of an additional response crew from Isiolo. Kenya’s Ministry of Roads and Transport, through its Air Accident Investigation Department, is leading the formal investigation into the crash’s cause.
The U.S. State Department confirmed five American citizens died in the crash and said the U.S. Embassy was in contact with local authorities and providing consular assistance to affected families. Also killed were Michele Sensi-Contugi Ycaza, director general of Ecuador’s National Intelligence Center and a close associate of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, and his wife, Stephany Hollihan Vásconez, a dual U.S. and Ecuadorian citizen. Ecuador’s National Assembly confirmed their deaths and said flags would fly at half-staff at parliament for three days in mourning.
Why This Matters
Suarez’s death represents a significant loss within Spanish language broadcasting in the United States, given his two decade tenure across multiple Telemundo markets and his role helping shape local news and programming for Hispanic audiences in several major U.S. cities. Colleagues’ tributes describing his impact as extending well beyond the stations he formally led point to an influence within the network that outlasted any single market assignment.
His death alongside a senior Ecuadorian intelligence official adds an unusual layer of international significance to what would otherwise be a regional aviation tragedy, drawing simultaneous formal responses from both the U.S. State Department and the Ecuadorian government.
The crash also lands within a broader pattern of increasingly frequent helicopter accidents tied to Kenya’s tourism industry, which relies heavily on domestic charter operators to reach remote, scenic destinations like Mount Ololokwe. A separate helicopter crash in western Kenya in February killed six people, including a sitting legislator, underscoring recurring safety questions facing charter operations in the country.
What Happens Next
NBCUniversal said in its memo that more information about how the company will honor Suarez’s life and legacy would be shared in the days ahead. Colleagues across NBCU Local and NBCU News Group are expected to continue paying tribute to him as further details of his death and the broader circumstances of the crash emerge.
Kenyan investigators are continuing to examine the cause of the crash, with no timeline yet given for their findings. Full identification of the remaining crash victims is expected as next of kin notifications are completed.
Reporting drawn from Variety, Deadline, the New York Post, NBC News, NBC6, Fox News and the Associated Press, citing an internal NBCUniversal memo signed by Cesar Conde
