Sasol Tigers jet crashes at Vereeniging

[mariusc]

Jet Crashes in Vereeniging:

Anyone knows what happened and who are the guys involved?

Another sad day in SA!

:(

[Rhodie]

Johnny Jet and Gabriel.

Very, very sad news.

R

[Gunship]

:sad: Oh no !!!!!!!! :sad:

Johannesburg - Two people were killed when a jet crashed at a Vereeniging airstrip on Saturday, an emergency services company said on Saturday.

Gareth Stadler, a spokesperson for ER 24, said four jets were performing stunts in front of a crowd when one of them went down.

"Two people died in the accident," Stadler said.

"At this point we don't know what happened. The crowd has been told to move away from the area."

[cavortingcheetah]

I hope that the following is not out of place.

Gabriel Ndabandaba – ‘Umnunzane’

Prior to joining South African Airways in 2004, Gabriel was a lieutenant in the South African Air Force where he learned to fly in 2000 and subsequently became the first black man to be a member of the prestigious ‘Silver Falcons’ – the SAAF’s premier formation display team. Gabriel was understandably delighted to become a member of the Sasol Tiger display team so that he could continue flying aerobatics. With a total of 1 800 hours, Gabriel believes: “If you have a dream, pursue it endlessly as the sky is not the limit.” How did Gabriel get his nickname? ‘Umnunzane’ is a polite greeting in Zulu meaning ‘Sir.’ Gabriel feels that transformation within South African aviation is not about forcing historically disadvantaged people into an aviation career, but rather to encourage the natural development of individuals through education and sustainable training methods.




Johnny Hattingh – ‘Johnny Jet’

Born in January 1957 in Springs, Johnny is the oldest in the Sasol Tiger Team. A businessman in the specialised metallurgical business, Johnny has accumulated some 800 hours, mainly on the Cessna 182 that he owns. His passion for aviation started when he visited the SAAF Dunnottar Airfield and sat at the threshold of the runway next to the main road as the Harvards came in to land. The sound of the old Harvards remains vivid in his memory as they so often flew over his home. As a youngster, he built many model aircraft and even tried to build a jet engine in his father’s garage. It was from this beginning, when almost setting fire to the garage while attempting to construct a ramjet engine at the age of thirteen, that jets became a fantasy.


In 1977 he applied to fly for the SAAF but started an engineering career before final selection and tests were carried out. The dream remained and eventually in 1995 he obtained his PPL and night rating. A young, confident instructor, Nigel Hopkins, put him through his paces and showed him just how fantastic his Cessna 182 was at 20 feet over Grand Central’s runway. What is amazing is that eleven years later this same ‘youngster’ would be teaching Johnny about the fantastic flying characteristics of the L29 Jet, albeit a little bit higher than 20 feet.


Being involved in engineering, he met Martin Van Straten who was a ‘hot shot jet jock.’ Johnny frequented a few airshows where Martin and Nigel displayed two L29’s. Around this time Johnny developed a process to enhance the life of the Sasol and Mosgas reactors in their Synthol plants. Little did he realise how important the influence of this development would be for the Sasol Tiger Team in the future.


Finance earned from this development gave Johnny the option to consider flying a jet. Martin wanted to buy another L29 and he thought that a third L29 would get the airshow circuit buzzing again. Johnny asked Nigel if he, as a PPL , would be able to learn to fly the jet if he brought the third one in. Nigel did not hesitate to confirm that Johnny could achieve his dream – “Huh he was going to have to teach me!” Johnny’s wife, Annie, supported the idea for him to live his dream, even as it meant a setback for securing a reasonable investment for the family future. He met ‘Ralf from Brazil’ - some flying fanatic who he had seen at Rand Airport - and was amazed that this fellow would come to South Africa and spend a week just flying his jet out of Rand.


Johnny went solo in the L-29 jet on 14 August 2004, thanks to the support of some very special people: “Nigel, who has made me feel and understand the aircraft; Ralf for forcing me to realise that checks and procedures are what count, and for all his organising; Marti for his words of wisdom about what really counts to fly safely, and Muffy Beamish who, for the first time in his life, was at a loss for words when he found out that the first loop I ever did myself was with him in the back seat. Last but not least, my thanks to Vladimir for the technical knowledge that he shared with me. You guys have helped me to live my dream.”

:sad

[SortieIII]

Condolences to both families.

Gabriel was undoubtedly a huge talent, and a gentleman. He will be sorely missed. :sad: :sad:

[Gunship]

And the bad reporting on flying continues. So sad - I read about the guys just the other day ... I think it was in the latest Sawobona on SAA ?

RIP gents. My sincerest condolences to the families :sad:

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said on Saturday it would investigate the cause of a jet crash that left two people dead in Vereeniging.

CAA spokesperson Gilbert Twala said four jets from the Sasol team were performing stunts at a Vereeniging airstrip in front of a crowd on Saturday morning.

While the jets were flying towards the crowd, one of them banked towards the left and went down.

"As the jets flew towards the crowd one of them must have lost height. We will investigate the height and speed of the jet at the time of the crash," Twala said.

Gareth Stadler, a spokesperson for the emergency services company ER 24, said it was uncertain what had caused the accident.

"The pilot might have lost control. We cannot say for sure what happened," he said. :sad:

[REAL ORCA]

RIP................

[fluffyfan]

RIP Boet, Gabriel.....you were a good man, we will miss you

[oldplane]

Condlences to the families and Sasol team mates. A Tragic loss of two gentlemen aviators. :sad:

[118.9]

Another airshow tragedy, so sad. The Tigers have brought much joy to many with their very good displays. There will no doubt be lessons to be learned from this tragedy, but let's hope the authorities do not use this accident as an excuse to pursue (even more vigorously) the anti-ZU policy......

Condolences to the families and the Team.

[nyathi]

My condolences to thier families and the rest of the Sasol Flying Tigers!:{

[Gunship]

South Africa's first black aerobatics pilot Gabriel Siyabonga Ndabandaba was on Saturday identified as one of the two people killed when a jet plane crashed in Vereeniging.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said two people were killed on Saturday morning while performing stunts at an airshow.

CAA spokesperson Gilbert Twala said four jets from the Sasol team had been performing stunts in front of a crowd when one of them banked towards the left and went down.

"As the jets flew towards the crowd one of them must have lost height. We will investigate the height and speed of the jet at the time of the crash," Twala said.

SABC news reported that 27-year-old Ndabandaba, who is the son of the KwaZulu-Natal agriculture MEC Gabriel Ndabandaba, was one of the two accident victims.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sbu Ndebele on Saturday evening extended his condolences to the Ndabandaba family saying the country has lost "an achiever and a good role model" for the youth.

His spokesperson Thabang Chilwane said Ndabandaba was one of the few airforce pilots who had the honour of doing the fly-over during President Thabo Mbeki's inauguration last year.

At the time of his death, he had been working as a pilot for the SA Airways where, the company said, he flew SAA's newest Airbus A340 aircraft on the airline's international routes.

He was one of the first black pilots trained by the SA Air Force (SAAF) in 2000.

Ndabandaba joined SAA in July 2004 after years of working for the SAAF where he was a Lieutenant.

Fondly known among as "Numzan" his colleagues, SAA spokesperson Onkgopotse JJ Tabane said he would be remembered for his "passion for flying and aerobatics".

Sad Link (http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1768548,00.html)

[Wasabi Pilot]

I would like to give my condolences to The NdabaNdaba family. I knew Gabriel from Langebaan where he was an instructor and flew a few sorties with him.

He was a wonderful person, always friendly and cheerful, he will be missed. His passion for flying will never be forgotten.

[pointer41]

With shock I learned of the crash. Gabriel was as good as they come, and a good friend. I would not have made better decisions in the cockpit. We will miss you boet. Condolences to both families and friends. May both of you fly freely forever.

[ou Trek dronkie]

So sad, a particularly bad crash. Sounds like two very good men have gone, too soon.

U salane gahle, Mmnunzana en Johnny.

On a relevant topic, has anyone read Des Barker’s brilliant book about crashes and deaths at air shows ? I thought it was one of the best aviation books I have read, although it’s not perfect. He has the courage to raise topics we all know about but are frightened to ventilate.

Nevertheless, what a loss for us all.

RIP

[flyboy2]

Pilots' six seconds to death
11/09/2005 22:12


Johannesburg - The cause of an accident in which two aerobatic pilots died during an air show at Vereeniging on Saturday will probably never be known.
The plane crashed just six seconds after Gabriel Ndabandaba and Johnny "Jet" Hattingh broke away from the rest of the Sasol team to do their solo display.

They sent no distress call indicating engine or any other trouble.

Ralf Dominick, the leader of the Sasol Tigers, on Sunday said the team's whole display went according to plan until the accident happened.

The team, consisting of four L-29-Delfin jets were in diamond formation.

Ndabandaba would have turned left and the rest of the team would have entertained the crowd until he had gained enough altitude to do his solo display.

He broke away at exactly the right moment. But moments later the plane hit the ground and exploded into a ball of fire.

Dominick and the rest of the team realised the plane had crashed only when they turned - "there was not a word spoken over the radio".

About 30 emergency workers battled to kill the flames consuming the wreckage and to remove Ndabandaba and Hattingh's bodies.

The earth was cracked where the plane had crashed and pieces of wreckage and jet fuel were spread out over a distance of 500m.

Witness George Simon and his friends from Vereeniging had arrived early and were looking forward to the Sasol team's show.

"Sasol had the best entry. Their four planes arrived in diamond formation.

"After a while the captain said over the loudspeakers: 'Break away!'

The next moment the plane crashed, caught fire and ploughed through the grass."

Neil de Lange, the show organiser and general manager of the Aero Club of South Africa, said the emergency services were at the scene within moments.

The two pilots had, however, died on impact.

The rest of the Sasol team, their pit crew and family members received counselling after the crash. Ndabandaba's fiancèe, Maggie Brits, arrived at the airport to pick him up as arranged was unaware of the tragedy that had claimed his life.

Ndabandaba was a first officer on Airbus A-340 at the South African Airways.

SAA organised for his parents to fly from Durban on Sunday to fetch their son's remains.

His father is Professor Gabriel Ndabandaba, MEC for agriculture in KwaZulu-Natal.

Hattingh, an engineer from Midrand, leaves his wife, Annie, and two children, Rory, 14, and Nichola, 9.

RIP

News24/Beeld

[MicroFlyer]

I witnessed this terrible tragedy on Saturday. There are no words to describe how tragic this accident was. I'm immensely saddened by the loss of these two wonderful fellow aviators.

Rest in Peace guys. Sincere condolences to the families involved. Our thoughts are with you.



Tossed like a falcon from the hunter's wrist,
sweeping plunge, a sudden shattering noise,
thou hast dared, with a long spiral twist,
The elastic stairway to the rising sun.
Peril below thee and above, peril
Within thy car; but peril cannot daunt
Thy peerless heart: gathering wing and poise,
Thy plane transfigured, and thy motor-chant
Subduéd to a whisper -- then a silence, --
And thou art but a disembodied venture
In the void.


But Death, who has learned to fly,
Still matchless when his work is to be done,
Met thee between the armies and the sun;
Thy speck of shadow faltered in the sky;
Then thy dead engine and thy broken wings
Drooped through the arc and passed in fire,
A wreath of smoke -- a breathless exhalation.
But ere that came a vision sealed thine eyes,
Lulling thy senses with oblivion;
And from its sliding station in the skies
Thy dauntless soul upward in circles soared
To the sublime and purest radiance whence it sprang.


In all their eyries, eagles shall mourn thy fate,
And leaving on the lonely crags and scaurs
Their unprotected young, shall congregate
High in the tenuous heaven and anger the sun
With screams, and with a wild audacity
Dare all the battle danger of thy flight;
Till weary with combat one shall desert the light,
Fall like a bolt of thunder and check his fall
On the high ledge, smoky with mist and cloud,
Where his neglected eaglets shriek aloud,
And drawing the film across his sovereign sight
Shall dream of thy swift soul immortal
Mounting in circles, faithful beyond death.

[J3ST3R]

Condolences to Gabriel and Johnny's family and friends. Their deaths are a tragic loss to the aviation community in South Africa.

If any of you have today's Beeld, please have a look at the two photo's showing the L-29 in flight, and pay particular attention to the airbrakes - they are deployed in both photos.

Is this the normal configuration for the A/C during this part of the display?

[MicroFlyer]

Having witnessed the accident, here's what I believe might've happened -

The 4 jets were approaching the crowd-line at 90º in diamond formation - too low, and too slow. Ralf called for number 4 to stand-by for the break, and in my opinion called the break too late. The number 4 jet then attempted to break before overflying the crowd line, but failed to do so and overflew the crowd line, went inverted, returning to the upright position before impact, away from the crowd-line.

The spool-up time in these aircraft are 14 seconds. The factors contributing to the accident in my opinion were as follows:

- The initial approach in diamond formation was low, and slow.
- The instruction for number 4 to break to the left was given too late.
- The steep bank to avoid overflying the crowd resulted in a loss of airspeed, the final factor which caused this awful accident.

[D228]

Johnny and Gabriel may you rest in peace, to your families and friends our heart felt condolences, may your memories be filled by the great pleasure Gabriel and Johnny have brought to many and may the sad times soon be forgotten.
Gabriel and Johnny you will always have a place in the history of South African aviation with what you brought to it, you are missed by all

[B Sousa]

Micro Flyer. Maybe out of courtesey you should take your analysis and make another thread. This one appears to be friends of the Aviators saying goodbye......

[J3ST3R]

B Sousa, I believe the MicroFlyer's post is in exactly the right thread.

Anyone knows what happened and who are the guys involved?

[MicroFlyer]

B Sousa,

My post regarding what may have contributed to the crash was only indirectly in reply to one of J3ST3R's comments ("...pay particular attention to the airbrakes..."). You will however notice that I expressed my feelings and said my goodbye earlier in the same post. I'm sure all of us who knew the aviators involved, especially Gabriel, would like to know what the cause of this very unfortunate tragedy was.

Aviation has suffered a terrible loss.

I genuinely hope nobody else has taken offense.

[Fliterisk]

Firstly, my condolansces to the family and friends of the two pilots. Didnt know them personally but knew of them and watched many an airshow where they participated. A big loss.

In my humble opinion it doesnt look like Micro Flyer's comments had melicious intent. I think its on everyones minds when something like this happens (particularly in such a high profile accident) as to what went wrong. There have been postings which have asked for an opinion and there one is. Maybe you are just a little braver than the rest of us to offer an opinion.

I have seen many accidents which have been as a result of pilot error and many not, but either way, I dont think anyone would think any less of the skill of these aviators, or feel any happier if we knew the cause. This happens to be one of those accidents that makes you wake up an realise how valuable life can be, because regardless of the cause, the pilots here must have been amongst the best and that's scary! The cause of this one can never detract from the skill and respect that these aviators have commanded in the thread.

[GULF69]

Does anyone know the reg of the L-29?

69

[J3ST3R]

STATEMENT FROM SASOL AND THE TIGER AEROBATIC TEAM

DATE: WEDNESDAY 14 SEPTEMBER

NOTE: THE FUNERAL AND MEMORIAL SERVICES DETAILS FOR GABRIEL AND JOHNNY ARE INCLUDED BELOW

Sasol, the Sasol Tiger team and families deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Gabriel Ndabandaba and Johnny Hattingh

The tragic deaths of Sasol Tiger Team pilots, Gabriel Siyabonga Ndabandaba and Johnny "Jet" Hattingh in an aircraft accident at Vereeninging Airfield on Saturday, 10 September, is a great loss to Sasol, the pilots' families, the Tiger aerobatic team and the public at large.

The two pilots had broken away from their four-plane display formation to begin a solo when their plane spiralled out of control, hit the ground and burst into flames.

Gabriel was an icon, humble, admired, passionate and a true ambassador. Johhny Hattingh was a wonderful family man and a true gentleman. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has started an investigation into the cause of the crash, such investigation taking up to a few months to conclude. Ndabandaba was flying the aircraft and Hattingh was in the back seat, acting as his safety pilot.

Ralf Dominick, the leader of the Sasol Tigers, on Sunday said the team's whole display went according to plan until the accident happened. The team, consisting of four L-29-Delfin jets were in diamond formation. Ndabandaba banked to the left as the rest of the team banked right concluding their display. He broke away at exactly the right moment, but moments later the plane hit the ground and exploded into a ball of fire. Dominick and the rest of the team realised the plane had crashed only when they turned - "there was not a word spoken over the radio".

"The outpouring of support and sympathy for the families and team, from various levels of government, the aviation community and public at large has been overwhelming and most appreciated, " added Dominick.

The SAAF aerobatic team, the Silver Falcons, will open the Zwartkop Air Force base's airshow this Saturday (17 September) with the "missing man" display in memory of the two pilots.

The organisers of next Saturday's airshow at Mafikeng International Airport have also dedicated their event to memories of Ndabandaba and Hattingh.

Dominick and Martin van Straaten will fly their two Sasol Tigers at the airshow as well. The remaining third L-29 belonged to Hattingh.

"The sponsorship and personal association between Sasol and the Tiger team has for the past two years been one of the most meaningful and rewarding partnerships for Sasol," said a Sasol spokesperson. "Right now our focus is to support the families and team and help them re-build to again become, as they are renowned, the best aerobatic formation team in this country."

The Sasol Tiger Jets are the only privately-owned jet team in the world. Gabriel Ndabandaba who was a distinguished pilot and was the first black jet pilot to join the Sasol Tigers. Johnny Hattingh was the team's super flying enthusiast. He obtained his private pilots licence in 1994. He was the director of a successful engineering company. Johnny has flown the L29 to a number of airshows as a solo ferry pilot.

FUNERAL AND MEMORIAL SERVICE ARRANGEMENTS:

GABRIEL NDABANDABA
A memorial service will be held at 12h30 tomorrow (15 September) at the Durban Exhibition Centre.

The funeral service will be held at 10h30 on Saturday at the Durban International Conference Centre (ICC)

JOHNNY HATTINGH
The funeral service will be held at 11h00 next Monday (19 September) at the St. Mary's Catholic Church in Rivonia, Sandton

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR BOTH GABRIEL AND JOHNNY (TUESDAY 20 SEPTEMBER)
Sasol, Airshow South Africa (ASSA) and the Tiger Team invite all members of the aviation community and friends of the families to join them for a service to commemorate the amazing contribution that both Johnny and Gabriel have made to the airshow / aviation world in South Africa - at 11h00 next Tuesday (20 September) at Skyraiders function venue, Rand Airport, Germiston.

ASSA will utilise the occasion to announce the formation of a Benevolent Trust Fund, in memory of the two pilots.

ISSUED BY SASOL

CONTACT: PETER WISE
TELEPHONE: (011) 326 1550 / 082 560 2375