Sad day for Namibian avaition.

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Helicopter crashes near Windhoek with prominent aviation personality on board.

R44 crashes just west of Eros airport. No survivors found. Response units confirm one body found, but could not be positively identified. Snapped powerline found near the scene.

Rumour has it that the pilot was the owner of COMAV, who owns the helicopter and also leases Air Namibia all its C208\'s, F406\'s and B190\'s.

This is indeed very sad news for namibian aviation.

[126,7]

Aren't the three brothers equal shareholders in Comav?

Sad day indeed ! RIP

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COMAV (Compion Aviation) used to belong to Andre Compion who is now with Air Namibia.

Danie Van Der Merwe bought COMAV a few years ago. He has since invested greatly in Namibian aviation. He in fact also took over the Swakopmund airport recently, where he installed runway ligths etc.

Thoughts are with his family...

[126,7]

Thanks for clearing that up.
Sorry to hear about Danie. My sincerest condolences.

[windycorner]

Condolences to those close.....
More info would be appreciated.

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Newspaper headlines on monday morning.

http://www.republikein.com.na/content/nuus/2005/Aug/08_danie.php

http://www.namibian.com.na/2005/August/national/05CB728133.html

[Gunship]

Condolences to Danie's family, friends and colleagues.

A well - loved and caring man will be missed by everyone.

:sad: RIP :sad:

[Beechdrivr]

My deepest condolences to family and friends.... really sad news!

Worked for Danie for a few years and all i can say was that he was a really fantastic person well liked by everyone. Namibia has lost another great aviation personality.

A really sad day indeed!

:sad: :sad:

[Voel]

We the first ones to get phoned after the crash. How to you tell your fellow aviators: "Yes it's true and yes it was him/her?" We lost a dynamic aviator and businessman

[Skaz]

First Jon, now Danie....sad to loose another aviator and brilliant bussinesman like Danie. What he doid for Comav and aviation in general in Namibia is truly amazing, my condolences to the family.

Anybody know what the future of the company and the guys flying there is gonna be?

[abc.fp]

Business will have to go on. The newspaper stated yesterday that Danie was the sole shareholder. Does anybody know if this is true?

Todays newspaper reports:

http://www.republikein.com.na/content/nuus/2005/Aug/09_comav.php

(The picture in todays republikein indicates just how devistating the crash must have been)

Voel, do you know if there will be any flypast for the funeral? Should this not be organised? If the funeral is tomorrow then there's not much time left!

[Gunship]

Abc.fp can you give us a link to the photo ?

So sad :sad:

[Voel]

Will be too late for the fly-past. Unless somebody else will arrange that, may some pilots out there. The funeral of Danie will be tommorrow at 10h00 NG Kerk Eros.

see link http://www.namibian.com.na[/URL]

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Gunship

You can find the pic in today's republikein. www.republikein.com.na. Also at www.namibian.com.na. Dunno how to upload the pics here, sorry. :confused:

Another newspaper article today: www.namibian.com.na/2005/August/national/05CC1C094A.html.

Anybody have any ideas on whether a flyby could be arranged in time? Getting permission from the DCA shouldn't be a problem.

[Gunship]

Tx mate ... here we go ... :sad:

http://www.namibian.com.na/photos/2005/August/helicrash.jpg

A time to mourn ....
Comav staff members look at the burnt-out wreck of the helicopter which Danie van der Merwe (inset) was piloting when it crashed late on Sunday.

Van der Merwe, the sole owner and shareholder of the Comav aviation company, was killed when his Robinson R44 helicopter crashed on his farm on the outskirts of Windhoek.

http://www.republikein.com.na./images/fokus/helikopter03.jpg

Fotos: Die toneel waar Danie van der Merwe Sondagmiddag gesterf het - een van die land se voorste sakemanne wat in sy Robinson R44-helikoper net buite Windhoek in kragdrade vasgevlieg het - het gister die stille getuies van wat presies gebeur het, steeds geheim gehou. Mnr. Van der Merwe was in lewe die eienaar van Comav, ’n lugvaart-rolspeler sonder gelyke in die private sektor. Foto: Francois Poolman

NÁ Sondag se vliegongeluk wat die lewe van een van Namibië se voorste ondernemers geëis het, was die gange van Comav se kantore gister stil en die swaar vrag van verlies het op die skouers van werknemers, familie en vriende gerus.
Die boodskap was egter duidelik; daar sal voortgebou moet word op die fondasies wat Danie van der Merwe in enkele jare gelê het.

[abc.fp]

The funeral for late Danie van der Merwe is this morning at 10h0 in the NG church in Eros.

The end of a very succesful chapter in Namibian aviation...

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Danie van der Merwe 'n inspirerende mens
• Ronelle Rademeyer

DIE geliefde Namibiese sakeman en vlieënier wat Sondagmiddag in helikopter-ongeluk buite Windhoek gesterf het, het dit nie “gemaak” in die lewe omdat hy van armmanskind tot suksesvolle sakeman kon vorder nie.
Hy het dit “gemaak” omdat hy blywende indruk kon laat op almal wat sy pad gekruis het.
Familie, vriende, kennisse, leerlinge van die skole waar sy kinders skoolgaan asook van die land se voorste sakelui het gister die NG kerk in Eros volgepak om vir oulaas hulde te bring aan mnr. Danie van der Merwe (48), eienaar van Comav.
Ds. Fourie van den Berg het in sy gedenkboodskap gesê mense plaas dikwels premie op dít wat verlore gaan.
“Ons kyk na mense en bepaal of hulle dit gemaak het in die lewe aan die hand van hulle finansiële en materiële suksesse. Ja, Danie hét dit gemaak op die gebied. Hy het aan die verkeerde kant van die spoorlyn grootgeword en kon daarin slaag om vir homself suksesvolle sakeryk op te bou. Maar dit is nie waarvoor ons hom sal onthou nie.
"Ons sal Danie onthou vir die diep indruk wat hy op mense gemaak het. Hy het die talente wat God hom gegee het, gebruik om van die wêreld beter plek te maak," het ds. Van den Berg gesê.
Mnr. André Compion, goeie vriend en eertydse sakevennoot van mnr. van der Merwe, het in roerende afskeidsbrief sy nalatenskap só opgesom: "Jy het nooit vergeet om vir ander mense te wys hoe belangrik hulle vir jou is nie. Jy los my agter met die grootste inspirasie."
Mnr. Sakkie Kaulinge, uitvoerende direkteur van Comav, het in ewe roerende huldeblyk gesê "ouboet Danie" was sy held, sy mentor en sy vriend.
Mnr. Van der Merwe wat sy vrou, Hettie, en hulle drie kinders, René, Tanya en Daniël agterlaat, se oorskot is na die gedenkdiens veras.
Hy is dood toe sy Robinson R-44 helikopter laat Sondagmiddag teen kragdrade vasgevlieg en neergestort het.
Hy was van sy plaas buite Windhoek op pad terug na die Eros lughawe toe die ongeluk plaasgevind het.

Heard very disturbing rumours that the MD of Air Namibia denied his staff the right to publish their condolences in the local media.

To make things worse: an Air Namibia staff member who went by the COMAV offices to offer his/her condolences in person has been instructed to report back in writing, accounting for each minute he spent at COMAV.

I\'m starting to understand why there are no more smiles to be seen and no more greetings to be heard around the NMB offices.

Any comments? (Hopefully somebody can prove me wrong)

[Gunship]

:mad: who is this Air Namibia MD ?

:mad: Doos !

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Air Namibia appointed a few MD's since independence, all failing to make the airline profitable. Then they appointed a local person, who, for the first time in history, managed to turn the airline around, and actually made a profit. One big problem though, he didn't fit so nicely into the affirmative action policy.

Now that things were going well again, goverment appointed Mr Egumbo as the new MD.

It seems he's determined to turn things around again. It took him only a few months to destroy any morale there might have been.

Anyway, this is all my opinion...

[Gunship]

Well after what you said about him in the previous post - he is a :mad: doos then.

No morale - no airline - no business ... so affirmative action in Namibia is also alive and well then ... :rolleyes: