Kiwi pilot injured in plane crash in Botswana

[Karaka]

Monday, 24 November 2008

The New Zealander, working for Moremi Air Charters, was transporting a German couple, two locals and a nine month old child from Maun to a tourist camp when the crash happened, according to a media report.

All were hospitalised although their conditions were not known.

"We have been told that the crash resulted from bad weather as it was windy and raining and the light aircraft could not stand the bad weather," said Maun police chief Robert Masibi.

Three New Zealand passengers in a similar flight – also a Cessna 206 flown by Moremi – died in a crash near Maun in May 2001.

-NZPA

Any more info from those in Botswana?

[I.R.PIRATE]

I have heard of aircraft being temperamental, but crashing because you can't stand bad weather is just ridiculous!

[Swamp Rat]

Flying in the Delta is differant, a lot of the companies put a lot of pressure on young pilots whom are trying as fast as possible to build time, and the delta being one of the places where it can be done, so the more you fly the faster you get your time, refuse and twenty guys are waiting behind you for your job, conditions vary in the Swamps but a lot of young pilots are bullied into flying into conditios that they arent ready for, I have seen it time and time again, disagree and someone else will happily go. Some pilots have got the ability but others dont, and being forced in to a position of I have to do it or I lose my Job is where the problem begins, In my time I have seen a few accidents for these very same reasons, this particular airstrip I know very well, lucky people were injured and not dead:ugh:

[Propellerpilot]

Well this discussion of pilots being forced to fly always repeats itself unfortunatly. If the chief pilot or boss forces you to fly, go tell him to do the flight himself. It is not always easy to now your own personal limitations, if you do not have experience counting in your favour, that will always be a risk however don't risk the lives of others if there is doubt.

But was this really an issue in this accident? Maybe this pilot just got caught in the middle of it - weather can build in those areas very quickly and met reports are also not the best - unawareness so to say. I do not think flying in the Delta is so much different, I think we will always be confronted with these issues in different ways and it depends on our personal maturity on how we deal with these issues on a daily basis booiling down to the quality of decisionmaking. Poor decisions in the air will hurt a lot more than getting fired.

[Karaka]

24 November, 2008

KASANE- A nine-months baby, two German tourists, two Ntsu Camp Site workers and the aircraft crew from New Zealand escaped with injuries when their aircraft crashed at the Okavango Delta.

The Cessma 2006 aircraft, which belongs to Moremi Air, was transporting the German couple to Ntsu Camp Site when the accident happened.

Maun Police Officer Commanding, Mr Robert Masibi said, "We have been told that the crash resulted from bad weather as it was windy and raining and the light aircraft could not stand the bad weather," he said.

"One of the women who was on board was flown to a South African hospital.

The pilot was rushed to Gaborone Private Hospital while the camp workers were treated for shock and released the same day," he said.

He said the German couple had booked in Botswana for two days when the accident occurred.

He said investigations were ongoing to establish the actual cause of the accident.

"I am not an expert in this field so I don't know why they encountered bad weather on the way as they have to be informed of the weather condition before take off," he said.

A press release from the ministry of Works and Transport indicated that the aircraft departed Maun at 1:00 p.m. to Ntsu with six passengers on board.

The release further stated that the aircraft was badly damaged.

Acting director in the department of Civil Aviation, Mr Motebele Sentle said investigations were still ongoing. He said the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 3 600 feet when it crashed.

He said the department of Metrological Services updates the weather report hourly to advice the pilots before take off.

Mr Sentle said people have been assigned to investigate the crash. BOPA

[Karaka]

3 600 feet?

[ZimmerFly]

According to Google Earth, Maun is a relatively flat area average elevation about 940 metres = about 3080 ft.

To be expected as it is a river delta area.

[B Sousa]

Somebody forgot to say NO. Weird weather here in SA also, but its been predictable. Severe clear in the morning afternoon buildup and boomers for a couple hours, then clear around sunset.....
Gotta learn how to do a 180 when the sky is no longer blue......

[Wyle E Coyote]

Sad to hear DOG has been laid to rest. Those boys go in there many times a day, it must have been pretty bad to bring it down.

Good to hear the DCA is onto it though. Their skills and expertise (and strong work ethic) will soon get to the bottom if it.

[206DOG]

This accident is not an issue of the pilot being forced to fly in bad weather.
As anyone that has flown in the Delta before knows, This time of year is when thunderstorms are around, This doesn't mean that all charter companies here close their door for the next 6 months!
Most company policy in Maun is that if there are CB's encountered at the airstrip you are supposed to land, then divert somewhere else to wait it out. This is exactly what the pilot of DOG was doing when he went down, unfortunately he ran into an embedded micro-burst as he was flying PAST Ntswi to divert elsewhere.
The pilot did a magnificent job in the circumstances to get the plane on the ground and everyone walked away from the scene, which might not have been the case with a less experienced pilot.
As someone who has been into that airstrip many hundreds of times over the last few years, (I flew in about an hour after the crash as well, conditions were calm and clear by then) I can very well understand the causes of this accident and don't think many pilots could have done any more than that pilot did on the day.

[Juliet-Echo]

Yeah, come on IR Pirate. How can you say a crash due to bad weather is ridiculous? Thunderstorms and the microbursts associated with them can be the most dangerous phenomena in aviation, especially for a light aircraft on approach.

Just remember that that statement was made by a Maun policemen, hardly the most knowledgeable person on the subject. Don't read his comments too literally.

[I.R.PIRATE]

Language proficiency checks for the both of you.

:ugh::ugh:

[onehotflyer]

Ref Swamp rats comment about experience. There are certain limitations that Mr Cessna has written down for a C206 and no matter how experienced you are if you want to fly outside of those limitations then you will crash eventually. Not saying that this was the case in this accident but saw so many non standard inventions that guys would come up with for what they thought was the best way to operate a 206 in my time there.
I was horrified to see that a certain operator out of there is starting or has started a training school. What on earth will he be handing down to new pilots. Very Scary!

[Swamp Rat]

Guys this thread is not about throwing stones, its about us keeping the people sitting behind us safe, very easy if its done right, I have loved every hour that I have flown over the Delta, what upsets me, is when stones are thrown, and 9 times out of 10 not fair, a lot of people have made comments when they dont know their arse from their elbow when it comes to bush flying

[Taxidriver009]

Bush flying? No carpets available?
We normally use aircraft to do the flying bit..........or maybe a bit of the green stuff! ........although that's more like, weed flying..........which one could confuse with bush flying.........IMC training in progress.....
:E

[Rude Boy]

I flew in Maun for a few years, a few years ago. I can say that, to the best of my knowledge, back then there was only one particular operator who used to place undue pressure on his pilots, out of 7 or 8 companies. Anybody who flew in Maun in the late nineties, early naughties, would know who I'm talking about.

It's not uncommon for young inexperienced pilots to feel under pressure when trying to get the job done. IMHO this pressure exists as much in their own heads as it does in the real world. My point being, there isn't enough emphasis in training on recognising safety margins and establishing no-go gates as there should be. Some operators exploit this.

I am not saying that this was a factor in this particular accident, merely responding the emerging theme of this thread which, I might add, is starting to sound a lot like the recent thread on accidents in SA.

[Swamp Rat]

Ten years of carting Samsonite and stupid fat tourists around the Okavango is enough for any pilot, dont blame them its the operators fault, putting young guys in to positios that shoud not be in, it really pisses me off, One owner whom I flew for had the audasity to say that he was embarresesd about how much money he made out of stupid young pilots that were even willing to pay to work for him, guys, yes maybe some young guys have wealthy parents that can look after them while they strive for the big 1000 hour mark, but dont end up an aluminium tree house for that quest

[big buddah]

Swamp Rat,
I agree with you 100%

I keep my Pprune posts to my self these days as I have came to the conclusion that most pilots who post here are rather uneducated in life skills but after drinking a few too many Grand Gala's I thought I'd throw in my 2 CAF's worth!

I must say the guys that fly in the delta are generally good bastards drink their piss and have a good time. Unfortunately they are generally the low time and inexperienced pilots. They haven't yet come across the decision yet of what is commercially possible and what is unsafe.

There is actually no correct answer to what is safe and what is not. You can argue the point with me but all I'll say is it changes by the second.

The whole point of this post is just because the pilot set off with an active CB means nothing. We do it every day, add in a war zone and every other obstacle you can think off and we'd never get air bourne. The fact is the pilot and pax walked away from a bad situation.

It takes everyone to stand back and look at the the accident and learn from it. You guys/girls in Maun don't actually see much weather. So if it was a micro burst that was the factor in this case, you should all stand back learn from it. Because when you leave the delta you'll relise how sheltered you have been.

It is some of the best flying you'll ever do but it is very limit in growing your experience.

DDmow, If you think turning down a job will lead to you getting fired, you need your head read. If your within the rules and your companies Op's manual your within in rights! and that leads to respect from other crews which in my time leads to get offered more work.

BB

Mind the spelling

[tiger9999187]

Anyone know who the pilot is? My first instructor left NZ for Botswana just after I went solo. Thanks

[Propellerpilot]

I agree with the big buddah - underlines what I posted earlier. Nobody can fire you for turning down a flight or doing a 180 to fly back home. The pilot in command stands over everybody else, including the company that he flies for exept the law, which may also be broken if it is for saftey reasons that the pilot deems necessary to protect lives. He is given these priviliges on purpose because he is personally responsible for the aircraft, souls on board and any cargo. If there is any proof of negelence of the pilot, he is liable in person and can be charged accordingly in a criminal court. Even if the company told you to fly (which they wouldn't dare to, because they like to blame everything on the pilot, if things do go wrong and neglegence was involved and insurance doesn't pay out) it is irrelavant - they will not be the ones facing criminal charges or be the ones not surviving a crash. I think a lot of young pilots do not understand the importance of this and the powers that result out of this. If they do fire you, it will be for another reason, even if they have to search hard for it.

If this pilot concerned did get into a unforseeable situation and had no way of knowing the danger, he did do the right thing and acted to the best of his/her abilities.

[Novice pilot]

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.

[Juliet-Echo]

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.