Aircraft crash in Tanzania
 

News24.com Reports:

Quote:
Arusha - Rescue workers on Tuesday found the bodies of four British tourists and their Canadian pilot who were killed in a plane crash. The aircraft had been missing since Sunday afternoon.

At least two bodies have been recovered from the remote crash site and police were helping in efforts to retrieve the remains near the Mahale National Park in western Tanzania, said police spokesperson Mohamed Mhina.

The Cessna C206 plane flew from the national park, on the eastern shores of Lake Tanganyika, on Sunday afternoon, "but contact was lost soon after takeoff and the aircraft failed to arrive at its destination", said Mark Holdsworth, managing director of the Nomad tourism company that arranged the tour.

Crash site difficult to access

Four aircraft were sent to search for the light plane and a crash site was identified from the air, he said.

"The site is remote and the terrain very rugged, making access on foot extremely difficult. A ground team finally reached the site at first light this morning and has confirmed that the plane crashed with no survivors," Holdsworth said.

A spokesperson of the British High Commission said an official statement will be released on Tuesday.

Officials in Canada's High Commission were not immediately available for comment.

Inspectors from the Tanzania civil aviation authority are on their way to the crash site to investigate the cause of the accident, Holdsworth said.

The tourists were flying to Katavi National Park, one of Africa's greatest remote wildlife sanctuaries. Katavi has greater density of game than most parks in Africa and yet it so remote that it receives less than 100 visitors a year. "

My condolences to all involved.

More sad news.

Waiting for Bert but what can one say in the mean time other than RIP and I am sure the pilot did not have a death wish.

An accident is so sad - I wonder how many of you has been close - I mean CLOSE to an accident ?

Tomorrow "my crash" will be 4 years old. I still think about it DAILY ! About her that was lost and just the fact that we where so lucky to come out of it all.

After all a buring helicopter wit full fuel and two engines out speaks for itself ... :sad:

RIP :sad:

Guys could you delete your posts, not everyone has been informed yet, I don't want them to find out this way.

The pilot was one my my very closest friends and my instructor at school. This is a shock to all of us that knew him. I do not want to comment any more on this but like in many accident, stay wondering what could have happened.

God speed Buddy!!

This thread will remain; no names will be posted until they are available in the media. Very sad news; our thoughts & condolences to the families & loved ones.

4HP

Very sad to hear the result, I heard of the plane going missing and being spotted, everyone was wishing for a happy ending.... but not to be.

Sorry about the loss of a close friend shenzi.

Condolenceces the fiends and family of the pilot and passengers.

:(

Very sad news and condolences to the families left behind.

Guns - if I may, I will raise a glass tomorrow in memory.

R

Sorry to hear about your friend Shenzi ! :sad:

My thoughts and prayers are with you and his family this day.


~~~~~~~Off the Topic ~~~~~~~~

tx for the thought Rhodie - appreciated :ok:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1609737.stm

Thanks guys, we've got more info by now, but we will still wait a little bit more before going into details.

Prayers to the families too. Despite many questions, everyone seems to be holding on.

----------off topics-------
Guns, sorry about the news tregarding the British major. Very sad too.

I just found out about it, the pilot was a personal friend of mine. A tragic accident indeed, for someone who loved flying.

May you fly in peace now

God speed my friend.

IBLB, Ivar, is that you my friend?

This from today's London Times.

Safari air deaths

Four British tourists, three women and a man, died with a Canadian pilot when their five-seater aircraft crashed in a remote region of Mahale National Park in Tanzania, East Africa. They were on a safari sightseeing flight from Lake Tanganyika and are thought to have been staying at Greystoke Camp.


:sad:

And further from The Telegraph.

Safari plane crash kills four Britons
By Mike Pflanz in Nairobi
(Filed: 19/10/2005)

Four Britons on a safari holiday were killed when their five-seater Cessna plane crashed in a remote area of west Tanzania close to Mahale National Park.



The Foreign Office confirmed yesterday that the three women and one man, on a holiday booked through the tour operator Nomad, died along with their Canadian pilot.

It was understood that the plane had been missing since Sunday afternoon, when it took off from Mahale bound for Katavi National Park.

The bodies were recovered yesterday from the wreckage of the light aircraft after search parties in four planes spent Monday combing the remote mountains between Mahale and Katavi National Parks, near Lake Tanganyika, before the crash site was found. It then took a ground team until early yesterday to reach the site on foot.

The two parks are famed for their families of chimpanzees and forested peaks soaring to 7,500ft above Lake Tanganyika. The areas are so remote there are no paved roads and all visitors and supplies have to be flown in.

Despite covering almost 1,000 square miles, Mahale National Park receives fewer than 100 visitors a year.

It is thought that the Britons had been staying at the Greystoke camp, a luxurious tented complex on the eastern shores of Lake Tanganyika below a tropical forest and the Mahale Mountains.

Nomad said Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority inspectors were on their way to the area.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those involved. We will release further information as and when it becomes available," said a spokesman for the company.

A Foreign Office spokesman said consular staff were awaiting confirmation of the deaths.

Mark Holdsworth, managing director of Nomad, said the Cessna had taken off from the Mahale airstrip on Sunday afternoon.

"Contact was lost soon after take-off and the aircraft failed to arrive at its destination," he said. "A search was instigated using four aircraft and a crash site was identified."





:sad:

A true loss of one of the most genuine people I have ever shared time with, I'm still in stunned silence.

My thoughts and sympathies go out to all involved.

God speed buddy....

Any one with more info plz PM me, Serge, can you let me know plz. Those of you who dont know me, I flew for Nomads last year so would appreciate any help
Deepest sympathy for the families

GB

Goonaboy, Contact me by PM.

I will write a few words about the Pilot, my friend, with some nice pictures of Happier times when names have been made Public.

The pilot was a very good friend of mine and its such a shock that this accident happened. Everyone here in this small community is pretty cut up. I just want to let everyone know how genuine this guy was, a heart the size of a house, great sense of humour and a good sense of advenure. he came out here to do what he loved most which is bush flying and we will sadly miss him. Always remember the good times. i hope he has as much fun in the next life as he did in this one..
May God rest your soul buddy :(
My condolences to the family of the pilot and to the family of the passengers.

Thanks Mo, great words, good to read them. I was talking to him last week and he was really happy to be in Africa, he loved the flying and the people he had met, all you guys in Arusha and in the bush.
Everyone is in shock on this side of the Atlantic and in Europe as you can imagine, Lorne had a lot of friends, had instructed to many and had become a friend to most of his students and more.

Telstar, did we fly to the NBAA in Orlando the 3 of us, a few years back? PM me.

Chris.

The pilot was, and will always remain, one of my closest personal friends. Unfortunately in these situations, there exists no amount of words that can explain what he meant to those who knew him well and the way he influenced and affected our lives.

He leaves us while doing what he loved the most, pursuing his dream, and living life to the very fullest. This is how I will remember him and this is how he would want us to remember him.

My thoughts go out to the familes of all those involved, that they may find some comfort in the fact that their loved ones are in the very best of company.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...ia/4357294.stm

Shenzi no, but I'll be speaking to you on MSN tonight.

Talk to you in a few Telstar.

Fellofanisland, great words, I got your email.