SACAA to recover plane wreckage

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Pretoria - South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) investigators are planning on recovering the wreckage of the airplane that crashed in Harrismith in the Free State.

The Beechcraft Bonanza crashed yesterday, killing four members of a family. The aircraft had earlier been reported missing after contact with it was lost.

"What is happening now is that investigators are now planning to recover the wreckage of the airplane on Platberg Mountain which is quite mountainous," SACAA spokeswoman Phindiwe Gwebu told BuaNews.

"This morning investigators together with police went to the wreckage to collect evidence to be used in investigations. At the moment we are not sure how long it will take to remove the wreckage," said Gwebu.

Since the beginning of the year the aviation sector has been in the spotlight. In October a pilot died after his aircraft crashed into a Durban school ground. Last week the regulator announced that 14 SA Airlink Jetstream aircraft had been grounded while a flight was aborted due to low oil pressure and smoke coming out of an engine.