Midair over Namibia, 27-12-02
Boeing 737, C404 collide over Namibia, land safely.
The Sunday Times
Windhoek, Namibia -- A major midair disaster was narrowly avoided when an Angolan Boeing 737 passenger jet and a twin-engine aircraft collided at 11 500ft near Windhoek the day after Christmas.
Aviation experts say it is a miracle that the two aircraft did not crash, killing all passengers and crew.
The wing of a TAAG Boeing 737-200, with nearly 50 passengers and crew on board, sliced through the tail section of the 10-seater Cessna 404 after taking off and climbing out from Windhoek International Airport bound for the Angolan capital, Luanda.
The Cessna had earlier taken off from Windhoek's Eros municipal airport and was heading for Tsumkwe in the northwest of Namibia to collect a film crew.
The pilot of the Westair Aviation Cessna, who was alone in the aircraft, managed to land safely at Eros although 40% of the tail fin and rudder had been lost, with the right-hand elevator and tailplane suffering extensive damage.
The wing of the Boeing, which seats up to 128 passengers, was also damaged but it is not known to what extent.
Aviation authorities in South Africa have for years been warning about the parlous state of air traffic control and equipment in sub-Saharan Africa and the potential for a midair collision.
In September 1997 two military transport aircraft, one American and the other German, collided at 35 000ft off the coast of Namibia, killing 33 passengers and crew.
Several foreign airlines fly to Windhoek, including SAA, SA Express, BA/Comair and SA Airlink.
But what has shocked and stunned the aviation industry is that the captain of the Angolan B737 continued on his journey, landing at Lubango in Angola - about an hour's flying time away - without returning to Windhoek to inspect the damage done to his aircraft.
"This verges on the criminal," said an SAA pilot who flies 737s. "The captain had no idea of the extent of the damage to his aircraft."
The president of the Airline Pilots' Association of South Africa, Captain Deryck Leathers, said this week that the actions of the TAAG crew were tantamount to fleeing the scene of a crime.
"The crew were irresponsible in not immediately returning to Windhoek to check the status of their damaged aircraft to ensure the safety of their passengers," Leathers said, adding that the association's warnings of a looming disaster in Africa more than five years ago had largely fallen on deaf ears.
"What we need to do now is get on with the inquiry into the collision and take the necessary action to remedy the causes."
The pilot of the Cessna, Rolf Traupe, described his experience this week: "I saw a flash of orange [the Boeing's nose section] out of the corner of my eye.
"I did not feel any impact and thought the jet had just missed me. But then I heard the Angolan pilots complaining about damage to their wing. I knew then they had hit me."
Traupe said he felt the turbulence of the Boeing buffet his aircraft, which began to vibrate.
"I reduced speed to maintain control of the aircraft, and because I could not see the extent of the damage, I thought it was minor as the aircraft was flying quite normally."
However on returning to Eros, Traupe was stunned when controllers informed him that "there's nothing left of your tail".
Westair chief executive Wolfgang Grellmann said it was a miracle that no one was killed. "This was as close as anyone can get to a tragedy without costing lives," Grellmann said.
"It is an extremely cheap lesson for our aviation authorities. For years there have been calls to authorities to upgrade infrastructure but nothing happens. This could so easily have been a 737 and a 747."
Grellmann said faulty radio equipment in the tower at Windhoek, which is not equipped with radar, might have been part of the problem.
"I know that Rolf called them several times asking them to change frequency as he was only hearing every third word or so, but the tower did not comply, for whatever reason."
He added that the TAAG crew might have had similar problems.
"The Boeing was climbing through 11 500ft and both pilots must have been looking down at their instruments not to have seen the Cessna. I can only assume therefore that they did not know it was in the vicinity."
Grellmann added that Westair had heard nothing from TAAG.
"I received a call this week from Luanda from a man claiming to be a military pilot wanting to know the fate of the Cessna. He would not leave a name or number. I think he might have been a crew member on the 737."
An inquiry has been launched by the Accident Investigation Branch of Namibia's Ministry of Transport. Tapes of conversations between air traffic controllers and the pilots concerned have been impounded.
Does anybody know where to find some pictures of the damage ???