Seneca crashes
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Mozambique
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Saturday about 1430 local time a ZS-registered Seneca crashed on the Beira beach about 2 miles from my house and 4 miles from the airport. 6 people dead. There was no sign of fuel leakage. possibly they ran out of gas? Apparently the plane was coming from Durban. I just checked out the wreckage at close range -it is on the back of a truck at the airport. One tank has some fuel in and the other has none. Both props have two intact blades, one feathered and one not. The people who claimed to see the crash claimed it "fell" leading me to believe it wasn't in a landing attitude.
It looks like the registration was LTX
It looks like the registration was LTX
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: In the oil wealth of sand dunes
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Condolences to those invovled.
I would be interesting to know if this was a long range or short range Seneca and when last it re-fueled. I doubt Rand-Durban-Beira is possible with short range and must be nearer the limits of the long range. This is from my memory of 20 years ago flying them.
I would be interesting to know if this was a long range or short range Seneca and when last it re-fueled. I doubt Rand-Durban-Beira is possible with short range and must be nearer the limits of the long range. This is from my memory of 20 years ago flying them.
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: The wrong side of town.
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FAVG to FQBR in a Seneca is just under 4 hours, assuming the plane was within MAUW at take off at FAVG with 6 POB it seems that it would have been a tight call fuel wise.
Condolences to all.
Condolences to all.
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: In the oil wealth of sand dunes
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I also remember around 18 years ago (90/91), that "highway Hennie" did a similar thing in a blue and white Piper Chieftain. He flew Rand-Durban-Maputo-Paradise island (but too dark and late to land) and diverted to Beira and had both engine quit just on the boundary fence.
A sad story too!
A sad story too!
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Pretoria
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An eye witness told me this afternoon that the Seneca had been "playing around" overhead Beira flying up and down, and then ran out of fuel going in nose first. Very sad and strange.
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: All Around
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inspection of the seneca ZS-LTX
Looking at both props, none of the blades show any rotational damage, and also the throttle quadrant has all levers in the idle, feather, and cut-off position. The gear was fully down and locked, not sure why the pilot would have the gear down trying to land on extremely soft and sandy area; planes touched down at the lowtide portion of the beach....very soft. Plane flipped at least once, so wonder if the gear did that. Severe damage to the whole plane tearing off both wings at the roots. Very sad for everyone.
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Cheltenham
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Pictures of crash
Not that I have a morbid mind to see crash pictures but where is the link to these pictures that shows the props and throttel, or Malmaspilot did you see the crash site? May all RIP.
KD
KD
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
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Had the misfortune to be shown 12 photo's taken by some morbid moron immediately after the crash. It shows the wreckage with bodies in and around it. Serious trauma to the bodies. I had met the pilot and his wife a few weeks before the crash and they seemed like really nice people. My condolences to the families of all the victims. This was a tragic and avoidable accident. The pilot made a mistake and him, his wife and four others paid for that mistake with their lives. There is no higher price. The only positive in this case is, hopefully, the rest of us will take fuel management seriously and not just pay lip service to the ideal.
