Tourists survive plane crash
24 November, 2008
KASANE- A nine-months baby, two German tourists, two Ntsu Camp Site workers and the aircraft crew from New Zealand escaped with injuries when their aircraft crashed at the Okavango Delta.
The Cessma 2006 aircraft, which belongs to Moremi Air, was transporting the German couple to Ntsu Camp Site when the accident happened.
Maun Police Officer Commanding, Mr Robert Masibi said, "We have been told that the crash resulted from bad weather as it was windy and raining and the light aircraft could not stand the bad weather," he said.
"One of the women who was on board was flown to a South African hospital.
The pilot was rushed to Gaborone Private Hospital while the camp workers were treated for shock and released the same day," he said.
He said the German couple had booked in Botswana for two days when the accident occurred.
He said investigations were ongoing to establish the actual cause of the accident.
"I am not an expert in this field so I don't know why they encountered bad weather on the way as they have to be informed of the weather condition before take off," he said.
A press release from the ministry of Works and Transport indicated that the aircraft departed Maun at 1:00 p.m. to Ntsu with six passengers on board.
The release further stated that the aircraft was badly damaged.
Acting director in the department of Civil Aviation, Mr Motebele Sentle said investigations were still ongoing. He said the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 3 600 feet when it crashed.
He said the department of Metrological Services updates the weather report hourly to advice the pilots before take off.
Mr Sentle said people have been assigned to investigate the crash. BOPA