Kiwi pilot injured in plane crash in Botswana
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Randburg RSA
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I happen to know the three (not two) German tourists on this flight and can confirm that besides them, there was a lady with small child on lap as well as a black man who worked locally and was in fact the hero of the day.
The weather was overcast but OK when the flight departed Maun but a thunderstorm could be seen over the area of destination. It would appear that the pilot was on long final only 2-3 km from threshold and very low and in heavy rain when he experienced a sudden loss of lift. Squall??? I have all the photos taken seconds before the impact and after. These corroborate the above report given to me by one of the German tourists.
The pilot applied full power but to no avail and in the final monents had to take evasive action to miss a large tree. It would appear that, at this point, a wing hit the ground and was ripped off. The aircraft impacted heavily and flipped. When it came to a stop, the fuselarge was almost ripped in two and the pax were hanging in their harnesses upside down.
By some miracle, the lady and her baby appear to have suffered only minor injuries. The black man, who had a few broken ribs walked through the bush, swam across the river to Gunn's camp and then came back with the rescue party (by boat). If ever someone earned a medal (or better) it was this man. The German woman was worst off with 17 broken ribs and mulltiple other cuts and bruises.
The weather was overcast but OK when the flight departed Maun but a thunderstorm could be seen over the area of destination. It would appear that the pilot was on long final only 2-3 km from threshold and very low and in heavy rain when he experienced a sudden loss of lift. Squall??? I have all the photos taken seconds before the impact and after. These corroborate the above report given to me by one of the German tourists.
The pilot applied full power but to no avail and in the final monents had to take evasive action to miss a large tree. It would appear that, at this point, a wing hit the ground and was ripped off. The aircraft impacted heavily and flipped. When it came to a stop, the fuselarge was almost ripped in two and the pax were hanging in their harnesses upside down.
By some miracle, the lady and her baby appear to have suffered only minor injuries. The black man, who had a few broken ribs walked through the bush, swam across the river to Gunn's camp and then came back with the rescue party (by boat). If ever someone earned a medal (or better) it was this man. The German woman was worst off with 17 broken ribs and mulltiple other cuts and bruises.
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Dubai
Age: 52
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Sounds like a microburst. As I mentioned in an earlier post - one of the most dangerous weather conditions in aviation. Stay away from virga! I was once in a 210 and flew through a mild microburst. I was alone, so the plane was light, but with maximum power, pitch wound fully forward and airspeed about 80kts I still had 1000 ft/min rate of descent! Luckily I had sufficient altitude on my side so I escaped, only with a slight adrenalin rush.
