Missing aircraft (with Aussies) Yaounde - Mbalam [Archive]

onetrack

20th Jun 2010, 15:46

The aircraft has been missing in excess of 24 hrs at this point, and no word has been heard from anyone on the ground, or in the air.
The isolated, relatively trackless region, where the aircraft was last heard from, approximately 25 mins after takeoff, has little by way of communication facilities. No distress messages were sent by the PIC of the aircraft, before contact was lost, and no emergency/distress signalling has been reported.

The chartered flight was from Youande in Cameroon, SE to an airfield at Yangadou, in the area of a village known as Mbalam, which is right near the Congo/Cameroon border. The flight left early Saturday, local time, and was expected to be approximately one hours duration.

Despite Talbot owning an 18 seat Bombardier BD-700, which was at Youande, the smaller CASA 212 was chartered to take the mining executives to the relatively rough and short airfield at Yangadou, because the BD-700 of Talbots was unable to land at the Yangadou airstrip.

The Cameroon and Congo Govts have sent out search aircraft... but I wouldn't like to pontificate on how quickly the wreckage of a CASA 212 would be found, in that heavily vegetated area.
Mining people who know the region, state that the area where the aircraft has been lost, is thick rainforest.

The media is now starting to say that it is highly likely that there are no survivors from the crash. The Cameroon Govt and military still appear to be confused on the number of pax and crew, stating either 9 or 10 in total. 10 appears to be correct.

Currently identified pax on board...

The entire Board of Directors of Sundance Resources (6 people)...

1. Geoff Wedlock (non-executive chairman of Sundance Resources). Former head of BHP Iron Ore division in Australia.

2. Don Lewis - Civil engineer. CEO of Sundance Resources and former MD of Multiplex Engineering.

3. Don Talbot - Non-executive director of Sundance, and its biggest shareholder via his personal investment vehicle, Talbot Group. He founded MacArthur Coal, one of Queenslands biggest coal producers.

Recently in the news as being charged with paying secret commissions to the former Queensland government minister Gordon Nuttall, who was found guilty and jailed for accepting bribes. Talbot was to face court in August and intended to plead not guilty to the charges.

4. Craig Oliver - Non-executive director of Sundance, and an Accountant.

5. John Jones - Non-executive director of Sundance, and GM of HWE Mining.

6. John Carr-Gregg - Lawyer, and Company Secretary of Sundance Resources.

7. Natasha Flason Brian - Talbot Groups senior female assistant - a French national who was resident in Australia.

Two other currently unidentified pax, who are possibly African business executives.

This loss is a serious loss to the mining business community of Australia, with the majority of those lost, being high profile people with long records in the mining industry. Trading in Sundance Resources shares will be suspended upon opening of the ASX, Monday 21st June.

Solenta

20th Jun 2010, 16:43

Plane with Australians, other foreigners 'missing': Cameroon < French news | Expatica France (http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/plane-with-australians-other-foreigners-missing--cameroon_78065.html)

Cameroon on Sunday confirmed that a flight chartered by a mining firm with 11 people on board -- six Australians, two French, two Britons and an American -- has been missing since Saturday.
Communications Minister Issa Thiroma Bakary said the CASA C-212 twin turboprop disappeared during a flight from Cameroon's capital Yaounde to Yangadou in northwest Congo-Brazzaville.
"The aircraft had on board 11 people, including nine passengers and two crew members, comprising six Australians, two French, an American and two Britons," he said.
The Australian government earlier said that the plane was carrying a group of mining executives and that it was "seriously concerned" for those on board.
Bakary said the aircraft was operated by a Congo-Brazzaville company,

Aero-Service, The official site of Aro Service in the Congo Brazzaville (http://www.aero-service.net/accueilfang.htm)

JetPhotos.Net Photo » TN-AFD (CN: 398) Aero Service CASA C-212-300 Aviocar by Michael Fabry (http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=5807532)

TN-AFA CASA 212-100
TN-AFD CASA 212-300

"It left Yaounde international airport on Saturday June 19 at 9:13 am with an estimated arrival time of 10:20 am local time" or 0920 GMT," he said. "The last contact took place at 9:51 am"

skyhighgirl

20th Jun 2010, 17:44

Does anyone know if the FA was Ken Talbot's personal FA or crew from the chartered aircraft.....very sad news for all pax and crew's family involved. I hope good news will come out of this in the end.....

piggybank

20th Jun 2010, 21:33

Sad news indeed.

While it makes sense to have all concerned with the project go and see it, it does beg the question of why the whole board of directors allowed itself to be on the same flight.

Many companies limit the number of key people on the same flight.

captplaystation

20th Jun 2010, 21:50

What ? just like the Polish govt then.

I guess nobody likes to face the reality that it CAN all go horribly wrong.

Not sure of the prudence of putting all your eggs in one basket, particularly if that basket happens to be an African owned and operated Casa, but well we all have different " comfort zones" I guess.

onetrack

21st Jun 2010, 01:54

Something like this can happen anywhere, anytime... the ground is always waiting to grab you, we all know that. However, the likelihood of an event like this, does always seem to have increased chances of happening in Africa.. :suspect:

One does have to question the wisdom of all the company directors travelling together, though. I'd say not too many readers here today, remember the event of the BHP companys Cessna Citation that left Perth, bound for the Eastern States in the early 1990's... and which ran out of motion lotion just past Kalgoorlie... because the PIC forgot to fill up... :ugh:

He put her down (rather skilfully, fortunately) on a firebreak, quite a number of NM East of Kalgoorlie, where the vegetation was thankfully, very thin. All aboard walked away without a scratch... however, I'd guess that all aboard broke out the new brown corduroy pants to hide the stains, immediately after they climbed out, too.

It was an extremely fortunate event, whereby there was no fuel for fire, forgiving vegetation, and smooth ground where they put down. It was an event that could easily have wiped out the entire board of BHP, and it sent ripples throughout the entire business community. From that day on, BHP has forbidden the entire board to ride together in the one aircraft.

gaunty

21st Jun 2010, 05:18

onetrack

Goodness I'd forgotten about that one, I see you and I are of certain age.:\

This one does not have any direct parallels beyond the make up of pax.

There was a fair bit behind that story but my increasing decrepitude renders me unable to access the finer details from the cobwebby recesses for the moment. But I will. Yes he ran out of juice but it was the why that was more fascinating.

Some of it is slowly coming back :{ but some alleged elements of the recent Polish crash with their President on board echo. Meetingitis?.:sad:

Solenta

21st Jun 2010, 05:59

Two Cameroon military reconnaissance plane searches seemed to indicate that the missing plane might have crashed in Cameroon’s south regional town of Djoum, located some 200km south east of Yaounde, officials said earlier today.
"Residents in Djoum said they saw explosions in the air on Saturday,” said a Cameroon official.
Djoum is located some 200km from Yaounde and about 250km from Mbalam, where Sundance has its flagship iron ore project.

Rudd promises full search for mining executives as Wilson Tuckey links trip to resources tax | The Australian (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/rudd-promises-full-search-for-mining-executives-as-wilson-tuckey-links-trip-to-resources-tax/story-e6frg9df-1225882213280)

Cameroon authorities and officials from Sundance are heading the search, which is expected to resume at first light, which is about 4pm AEST on Monday.
A day's search has failed to find any conclusive evidence of a crash. Mr Smith said the plane, carrying a seventh person, an Australian permanent resident, made its usual procedural check-in halfway through the hour-long flight.

Sundance execs forced to take same plane | News | Business Spectator (http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Sundance-execs-forced-to-take-same-plane-6MN4E?opendocument&src=rss)

ve3id

21st Jun 2010, 10:21

Here is another incident that shows mining executives have short memories when it come to putting the important people together in one plane. If memory serves me correctly, this was key guys from Noranda Mines:

CKVR Television Tower : History (http://www.servinghistory.com/topics/CKVR_Television_Tower::sub::History)

I remember this one very well since a friend and I pulled the silver crown avionics from the wreckage at the then King City airport and re-built them to fly in my friend's C175. What a mess a tower makes of a Beech Baron!

onetrack

21st Jun 2010, 13:51

Cameroon and Congo Govt and military searchers have now been joined by the French military; as it has now been reported - accurately it seems - that the total complement aboard the CASA 212 was 11 - 6 Australians, 2 French nationals, 1 American, and 2 Britons.

Locals from the small village of Djoum, advised searchers that they heard an "explosion in the air" on Saturday morning.
Initially, these reports were discounted - but it now appears that more weight has been given to them, as Djoum is not far off the flight path of the CASA 212.
The flight path appears to have possibly run several NM N/NE of Djoum, and near a large forest/wilderness area known as Dja Reserve.

The villagers may have heard the actual aircraft crash into the jungle and thought it happened in the air. Searchers are now concentrating in the Djoum area, and local pygmy tribespeople are being requested to help, as they know the forested areas well. There is only one road in the area. The pics below show the road, and the vegetation around Djoum. It's obvious that jungle with a decent canopy exists in much of the area.
As most of you probably well know, an aircraft crashing through jungle canopy can often make only a small hole in the canopy, and it makes the finding of wreckage, extremely difficult indeed.
Another problem has been regular morning fog, which is making searching even more problematic.

http://i50.tinypic.com/2enos3o.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/2zgzxpz.jpg

Pom Pax

21st Jun 2010, 17:03

gaunty & onetrack
Just to politely correct your collective memories, the Cessna Citation incident was in the early 1980's. The aircraft was westbound for Kalgoorlie from the Eastern states and belonged to B.H.P. North not B.H.P. I went out for a sticky beak about 2 hours later. Considering the low cloud base at the time of the incident he was very lucky to find a fire break right in front of him, which fortuitously was a adjacent to a road.
There was unfortunately a more serious accident in 1988 (http://www.ag.gov.au/ema/emadisasters.nsf/c85916e930b93d50ca256d050020cb1f/d91d8e20739ad6b1ca256d33000583db!OpenDocument) again involving most of the senior members of a mining company.
I fell very saddened by the current uncertainty as I know several of those missing.

ian16th

21st Jun 2010, 18:15

Tycoon dies in Africa plane crash: News24: Africa: News (http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Tycoon-dies-in-Africa-plane-crash-20100621)

onetrack

21st Jun 2010, 23:40

Pom Pax - Thanks for the corrections on the details of the BHP North Cessna Citation incident. Yes, I knew it was quite a while ago, but didn't realise it was that far back.

I'm saddened to hear of the "no survivors" result, but I think anyone with a realistic view would have known all along, the chances of survival in this unforgiving terrain are low.

I'm a little surprised at the location of the wreckage. According to reports, it was found "on the western ridge of the Avima Range in Congo, near the Gabonese border", and about 10kms from the Avima Iron Ore mine. Contractors from the mine are currently planning to cut an access track to the wreckage from the mine.

Because the location of the wreckage is far from a direct route from Yaounde to Mbalam, one has to suspect that the miners requested that the pilot of the CASA 212 do a detour so that they could view the iron ore operations at Avima, before circling back through the "iron ore country", that is located on the Congo/Gabonese/Cameroon border, and on to Mbalam.

Because of the description of the wreckage site, on the slopes of the Avima Range, one has to suspect that this was a simple CFIT, possibly due to pilot unfamiliarity of the area, fog, or possibly because of a request to go lower to view operations... or possibly a combination of all the preceding.

http://i48.tinypic.com/oup7y8.jpg

Solenta

22nd Jun 2010, 06:00

There will be a detailed investigation, I am sure, due to the Australian contingent and high profile of the deceased.
Without speculation, as the investigation will hopefully reveal the facts...
Given the lack of fuel availability at the remote airstrips, the distant alternates and the need for round-trip fuel - the aircraft would most likely have had a lot of fuel ( fuel-payload ) on board.
Add 11 souls on board - the aircraft would have probably been at close to RTOW ex Yaounde, and likewise ex Yangadou. ( short unprepared airstrip, acceleate/stop, accelerate/go, no anti-skid, gravel strip )
On the flight path / route..... what if an engine failed en-route, would they have been able to driftdown and maintain ? Perhaps they were doing an in-flight diversion ?
The CASA 212 is FAR 25 certified, non-performance class A ( stand to be corrected ).
In reality, this mission should have been split into two trips, with a Part 121 / Perfrmance Class A aircraft - more expensive, but safer. Partly to split the executive board, and partly to have better aircraft performance with the reduced weight.
I am surprised that this solution was decided upon, given the availability of alternative options.

However, let the investigation reveal the facts and let us all learn from this. This was a tragic loss of life, perhaps unnecessarily so.

lickmine

22nd Jun 2010, 08:39

I used to operate for the UN in DRC several years ago and am not aware of the requirement for the use of black boxes in smaller aircraft. The news reports in Australia are all claiming that the black box has now been recovered.

Can anyone enlighten me as to whether this is a requirement for such an aircraft?

V1... Ooops

22nd Jun 2010, 09:18

...Can anyone enlighten me as to whether this is a requirement for such an aircraft?

Requirements for safety equipment such as recorders are operational requirements set by the country of registration, not certification requirements set by the country of manufacture.

So, in this particular case, the question is whether or not the state of registry (DRC?) requires that aircraft of this size operating in the particular service category (e.g. charter, scheduled public service, etc.) need to be fitted with recorders.

Seagull V

22nd Jun 2010, 09:47

Not related to this sad accident but a savvy SAR agency PR chap would surely find it easier to tell the press that the BLACK BOX has been found even if it hasn't or especially if there isn't one.

Much easier than to try to explain why it hasn't been found and far, far, easier than explaining that there is no requrement for a black box in certain classes of aircraft.

They will regurgitate the news that the black box has been found a few dozen times and then forget about it.

Same goes for Flight Plans. The meeja tends to seize upon the lack of a flight plan as the obvious cause of the prang. Better not to tell them.
Sorry to be so cynical.

Agaricus bisporus

22nd Jun 2010, 11:09

As a bit of an aside, Seagull, I doubt very much whether the "meeja" or the public that absorbs their output has the least conception of what a flight plan actually is. It irritates the hell out of me when a puddlejumper goes down on a summer sundday afternoon and the meeja tell us "no flight plan was filed". The implication to the non-aviation public is that no form of planning or preparation was done and the aeroplane was simply swanning around on a whim, and probably unauthorised too. I think the public does understand that some sort of preparation and planning is required before anyone goes flying, and this statement carries an implication of negligence and recklessness to the uninformed ear. Regardless of the bald accuracy of the statement it conveys some very misleading connotations.

I also think that "black boxes" (what a daft meejaism that is!) are thought to be part of every aircraft's equipment too as far as the general public are concerned.

FGC

22nd Jun 2010, 11:40

The Casa 212 is medium category, and they usually have at least a CVR. Whether it was serviceable is probably the question.

three eighty

22nd Jun 2010, 12:04

The news reports in Australia are all claiming that the black box has now been recovered.

Anyone experienced with operations in this part of the world will know that there most certainly will NOT be any form of recording equipment on board the aircraft.

gaunty

22nd Jun 2010, 12:15

Folks,

thanks Pom Pax, I was then in the business of purveying fine Cessna aerial carriages to business gentlefolk, God how time flies, and this incident was not unexpected given the shenanigans, as I remember them, surrounding the flight operations of yes North BH. North BH at that time with Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation owned Rex Aviation the Australian Distributor for Cessna.

Bottom line as I uderstand it, was the BHP North folk (flight ex Melbourne) had a really really urgent need to be at a meeting in Kalgoorlie and I understand there was a bit of pressure applied to the pilot to get there in time. Protestations that he really really needed some fuel somewhere between Ceduna and Forrest were discussed and I guess he made the decision to "have a go". If I recall it correctly my calculations showed that he was into his fixed reserves overhead Forrest. It all went quiet about 30nm (about when it should have according to Mr Cessna's flight planning figures) short of Kalgoorlie and they realighted :p on spaceship Earth with the pax relatively unscathed, beyond their bent pride and soiled underdungers, at the aforementioned firebreak. It was, as were all their flights, operated in Private.

I think, Dave Ford? was brought over from Sinneytahn, the aircraft was jacked up, the gear extended and it was trucked to Kal airport. An inspection and some remedial work (the pressure vessel was ruptured) and a DCA/DOT/or whatever they were called then ferry permit raised and off it flew to Bankstown for repair.

Lessons then as now.

Your absolute responsibility to your passengers sometimes means you have to have the guts to back your judgement and tell the boss to go plait it if he insists. I dont recall the pilot getting a bonus or promotion for "having a go" for the company. I dont recall any pilot ever getting a medal or his pension plan NOT getting cancelled from his company for services "beyond and above".:{

Like the recent accident, why have a policy or protocol if you dont follow it, to the letter.

I understand from the press that they had actually booked another operator who for whatever reason was unable to deliver. My overseas collegues from that part of the world are all scratching their heads, there was supplemental lift available, but it might have taken a couple or more hours to get there, so why the hurry?

We will never now know what local political/business pressures were extant.
Where was Mr Talbots Global Capt, the only onsite "expert", did he have the confidence, knowledge, experience or ability to say to his boss, flat out NO.

It is reported that a local Sundance company employee removed himself from the flight.

There are system and process failures from end to end in this tragedy.

And so it goes.

Oh and BTW Pom Pax, it is quite dangerous to get me started on MU2:E, if that was the accident to which you reffered. i knew a number of the pax and the pilot. It took me a while (not soon enough in that case) but the type was eventually relegated to freight and unsuspecting boy wonder pilot fodder, never to be used for passengers again.

Neptunus Rex

22nd Jun 2010, 15:02

Aviation Safety News shows that the CASA operator in question is on the EU Blacklist.
QED.

passionforflying

22nd Jun 2010, 21:16

Does anybody know the names of the crew? You can pm me. Thanks

onetrack

23rd Jun 2010, 01:39

All the victims have been identified, and families notified.

Pilots -

Frederic Canal - French
Steve Hollingworth - English

Pax -

Geoff Wedlock - Australian.
Don Lewis - Australian.
Don Talbot - Australian.
Craig Oliver - Australian.
John Jones - Australian.
John Carr-Gregg - Australian (Pakistan-born and lived in South Africa).
Natasha Flason Brian - French National, living in Australia for 6 yrs.
James Cassley - Irish born, but held a British passport.
Jeff Duff - American.

passionforflying

23rd Jun 2010, 05:22

Thanks onetrack. I was dreading to have it confirmed..... yet another friend lost. I want to believe they are slowly all meeting up again.....

frigatebird

23rd Jun 2010, 05:54

Actually, Agaricus, I think the media reporting in Australia of this accident has been better than usual. We pilots would like to see a little local knowledge of the conditions in that area so we can form our own conclusions of the accident cause, however. Plenty of others jump on our thread if there is an accident in the east, (ie Remoak), perhaps we can get some feedback about this one by locals operating in this area.

superserong

23rd Jun 2010, 08:42

My heartfelt condolences to all the families. Steve was a very dear friend of mine, and he leaves a big void. If anyone has comms with his mother or sister, please pm me.

Fly Safe

SS

Seronga

23rd Jun 2010, 10:43

I also knew the pilot personnaly. He was the first one who helped me to get a Job in Africa and my very first flight over the African bush was with him. A great personality, great story teller and a really funny guy! But with a real srong english accent with all my respect - thats how most of us gonna remember Steve!
I feel deepest with his family unfortunately i dont have contact to his family! Rest in Peace!

STITCHEDUP

23rd Jun 2010, 13:02

I am Steve's niece and would love to hear from anyone who new him. We are all devastated here at home and having great difficulty finding out infomation.

cya

23rd Jun 2010, 13:58

Knew Steve from Maun and Swakop -very well known at the Old Bridge Backpackers bar - top guy and one of the worlds better storytellers. Quite a shock...

onetrack

23rd Jun 2010, 15:21

At this point, no bodies have been recovered from the wreckage, despite media releases from the Congolese Govt, stating that all bodies have been recovered. The retrieval people are still having to rappel down into the site from choppers.
A team from the mining contractors employed locally are using earthmoving equipment to cut an access track to the site; and then, when the crash site is reached by this team, it is expected that a clearing will be opened up, big enough for choppers to land and evacuate the bodies.
A number of bodies are still trapped in the wreckage, and extensive cutting and component removal is required to extract them.

The mining company has officially engaged a team of (currently un-named) "specialist repatriation experts" to handle the bodies recovery and repatriation - and quite likely, the logistics of dealing with both the Cameroon, and Congolese Govts.
As can be seen by the erroneous and misleading statements by Congolese officials, their communication and logistics systems are poor - and a lack of any people in the Congo with serious air crash investigation/recovery/organisational skills, effectively means that the teams are up against major problems.

It's likely that the bodies, when recovered, will be flown to Brazzaville, as the crash happened on Congolese territory. I would hazard a guess that the specialist repatriation experts will try to expedite and cut through any Congolese logistical holdups, to get the bodies onto aircraft out of the country, as soon as possible.

It's highly likely, that due to a lack of any internationally-recognisable aviation safety authority in the Congo, that the crash will never be properly investigated.
In any other jurisdiction, competent air crash investigation authorities and teams would have been in there by now, securing the site, taking photos, and checking control positions, before anything was moved. It's highly likely that no CVR was fitted or working, let alone an FDR.

The Congo Govt is a typical, barely-functioning, 3rd world African Govt. A ceasfire with rebels who controlled serious areas of the country was arranged in 2008, and Presidential elections were held in July 2009, with Denis Sassou Nguesso elected President, amongst reports of "very low" voter turnout, fraud and irregularities.
Under these circumstances, don't expect to see a competent Congolese aviation safety authority arise, any time soon.

Bob3213

23rd Jun 2010, 19:39

RIP Uncle Steve. The times we had in Swk will never be forgotten. Your stories, laughs and advice will always be kept close to our hearts. Condolences to the family he left behind. One day we will all meet up again.

jETA-1

24th Jun 2010, 06:55

RIP mate, remember the good times...

mbowde

24th Jun 2010, 09:26

Went to school with Steve or Holly as he was known and he was the best man at my wedding 20+ years ago! Lost touch but never forgot him (how could you!?)

Remember his passion for flying from the days we spent plane spotting at Manchester Airport and building an "airfix airforce"

The one consolation is that he died doing what he loved and always aspired to. Condolancies to all his friends and family.

bluesideoops

24th Jun 2010, 12:58

Could anyone from Steve's family that knows when the funeral will be, when the body is repatriated to the UK, please post details. I am a friend who would like to attend.

Vladimir9999

24th Jun 2010, 14:05

Hi

I knew Steve. He was my first Chief Pilot and more importantly he was one of the few people on this planet that I could call my friend.

I will sadly miss his jokes (of which he knew millions), and his very sage advice that I accepted wholeheartly and that helped me no end.

We are having drinks for Steve tonite and one of his favorite Maun watering holes "The Bridge".

Is there a e-mail address that we can contact you at to send any photo's we have of his life????

206DOG

24th Jun 2010, 16:51

RIP Steve, Here's to many great nights sharing a few quiet's in the Bridge, you will be missed buddy

ChopHarris

24th Jun 2010, 18:18

Dont fear death,fear a life not lived! Steve you showed us all how! Will miss you my friend and always have a look above me while flying because AWACS was always above the rest of us,ready with the camera! Sure there is a little guy up there that is happy to see you again! Would also like to know any info of the funeral???

Vladimir9999

25th Jun 2010, 07:22

Hi

Let me know if you can send me an e-mail address as we are preparing a Condolance Book for the Steve from the Maun portion of his life. We would like to send it to the family at some point.

Thanks

Seronga

25th Jun 2010, 11:32

I was searching my hard drive for any useful pictures from Steve in Maun (or at the bridge) couldnt find any - very sorry to find out that i dont have any nice pictures ofhim. If the guys in Maun need any kind of contribution pls let me know i am happy to join! Can anyone upload some Pics on FB or pprune if that is ok with everyone?? Maybe from the god old Maun days? Thanks indeed.

onetrack

25th Jun 2010, 14:47

The latest news from the crash site is that the previously poor weather conditions have cleared somewhat, and further progress has been made. I gather that the elevation of the crash site is around the 900 to 1000 metre level, and regular clouds and rain have previously hampered movement, as the chopper pilots apparently couldn't even see where the crash site was, for lengthy periods, due to cloud... thus restricting access to the site by the recovery team. The crash site is apparently only about 100 metres below the top of a peak in the Avima Range.

As of last light local time today (Friday 25th), the site has been reached (on Thursday) by the earthmoving equipment, a pad cleared, and further work on dismantling the wreckage has been carried out. Some bodies have been retrieved from the wreckage (starting late Thursday), and some are still to be retrieved, as of today. The French military and their aircraft are still the main operators in the recovery operation.

The South African repatriation team (now identified as Rescue SA) appears to have been working on the Congolese Govt with success, and as of today, the Australian Federal Police have been invited by said Govt, to become involved in the overseeing of the repatriation of the bodies. The Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria has also arrived in Brazzaville, and has held a special cross-ministerial meeting with Congolese ministerial officials.

This is good news, as it means that a substantial degree of organisation will now be applied to the process, which will hopefully speed up repatriation of the bodies, and cut through any Congolese Govt holdups.
One would hazard an educated guess - as with any 3rd world Govt - that any potential holdup, would only involve who gets how much in bribes, to speed up the necessary "Govt processes"... :ugh:

It has been reported that the CVR has been located and recovered, some distance from the main crash wreckage. Whether it yields any useful insight to the crash, only time will tell.
Rescue SA has taken in a team of 5 personnel, along with 250kg of rescue equipment, to retrieve the bodies. Amongst this team is an expert in mortuary science. The Rescue SA team left SA on Thursday and began work at the crash site today (Friday).

dnk

25th Jun 2010, 15:41

Condolences to family and friends - we have lost a good man there.
Maun Legend and All Round Brilliant Chap = Steve H

frigatebird

25th Jun 2010, 22:07

Thanks for your post(s) onetrack.

passionforflying

25th Jun 2010, 22:14

Dear Stitchedup,
thank you for your private message. My dearest condolences should you indeed be the niece. In which case, sorry for doubting it. I would love to get in touch with you. Send me your details and I will call you back.
Should you however be the same journalist trying to get more info- then sorry, my answer is still NO!
Passionforflying

onetrack

26th Jun 2010, 14:53

The news for today, Saturday 26th Jine, is that Rescue SA has done a brilliant job, and recovered all 11 bodies from the wreckage well within a 24 hr period.
The bodies were transported to Yangadou airstrip by French military chopper and then loaded onto a Congolese aircraft and delivered to Brazzaville, where they have now been placed in a secured location, ready for identification to be officially made, and death certificates issued.

Rescue SA planned on a possible 5 day project, but completed it within 24 hrs, and are now on their way back to SA, with their arrival in SA planned for Saturday night, local time.

The AFP have now apparently taken over the process of identification and the logistics of repatriating the bodies to the respective countries where their families are. It may be necessary that DNA sampling is required for identification.
As many will no doubt be aware, this was a high speed impact into big trees and terra firma, and the bodies are not necessarily intact or readily identifiable.
The AFP need to ensure there are no errors in ID, as has happened in recent times with a military body repatriation from Afghanistan.

The current Sundance Co., stand-in Managing Director, George Jones, has stated that the repatriation process will proceed as rapidly as possible, but cannot place any precise time frame, on when the bodies will leave the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The DRC Govt has stated that they will initiate an investigation into the crash, as it happened on Congolese territory. I would imagine they will need to call on some outside assistance in this matter. No time frame or parameters regarding the crash investigation have been outlined.

iakobos

26th Jun 2010, 18:06

Not Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa) but Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville)

onetrack

27th Jun 2010, 01:04

Thank you iakobos, I stand corrected on the Govt involved.

africaflybynight

28th Jun 2010, 09:44

RIP Steve. You will be sorely missed by all who knew you.

CathayBrat

28th Jun 2010, 10:32

Was a great chap, sorely missed, had my birthday with him in april in PNR, as usual he did things differently.

PebbaDog

28th Jun 2010, 13:04

Steve was a very good friend here in Maun, Botswana, and often was a member of our outings into the Kalahari and Swakopmund. I have these pics...http://www.jacanaent.com/Photos/Steve1.jpg

http://www.jacanaent.com/Photos/Steve2.jpg

http://www.jacanaent.com/Photos/Steve3.jpg

http://www.jacanaent.com/Photos/Steve4.jpg

spip

28th Jun 2010, 13:55

Thanks for the pictures, a beer, a camera and stories, this is Steve!

onetrack

29th Jun 2010, 06:44

The "West Australian" newspaper has released a couple of pictures of the crash site, and it is reported that the US National Transportation Safety Board will join in with the crash investigation efforts, after a request from the Congolese government.

Currently the bodies are undergoing autopsy and identification, under a team of 7 Australian Federal Police, Congolese officials, and Australian High Commission officials. It is reported that the autopsies and identification processes will be completed by some time next week, whereupon the bodies will be repatriated.

http://i49.tinypic.com/344fddy.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/nb3ser.jpg

G-ONE

29th Jun 2010, 11:53

I lived with Steve here in Maun.(girlfriend).He was such a good hearted man.I remember he used to play the flight similator everyday before he went to bed,pause it and continue the following morning before he goes to work,that was his hobby and passion.I cant forget the day he told me we had to move to West Africa(2007),i was so terrified and refused.He kept insisting until last year when i scarefully allowed him to go and work there,he told me he would be happy and not in danger that side.As much as he loved flying,he used to tell me that he didnt want to die of an aircrash,im so devasted that what he wanted the least is what happened to him.

Its been a week now and i still cannot believe i will never hear from him again.We have been trying to look for his mother's (Claire)contacts and we still havent got them as the phone he bought me got stolen just the day before he passed away with all the contacts,how painful.You can sent them me on this [email protected]

Steve's niece,please pass my condolescence to your family and tell them Steve loved you so much,he used to tell me stories about you guys,(mother,his only sister and his 2 niece and their father.)

May God bless and comfort you.

Regards

passionforflying

30th Jun 2010, 21:12

Stitchedup,
my sincere appologies for doubting you being the real niece.... I guess I over reacted after being contacted by several journalists after this great loss.
Sorry for that.
Passionforflying

UnPoweredFlight

9th Jul 2010, 08:01

I'm sort of sorry to all the aviators that this thread has become something of a tribute to Steve, but I like many others have been searching for news since the first reports surfaced. Thank you for the objective information on what's happened or happening. Please keep it coming.

I am not a flier, but like "mbowde" (hiya Ned) was at school with Steve and kept in distant contact, seeing him last in April when he visited the UK - a memorable evening. As the many comments testify, Steve was a top guy with a big heart, great sense of humour and a passion for flying.

Friends in contact with his mother are doing what they can here in the UK whilst allowing the family to grieve, but I gather the picture is still confused. I understand - and I may be wrong - she wishes Steve's remains to be buried in Africa where he felt most at home. If so there may be an opportunity for those who knew him there to gather together again and celebrate the good times. I'd like to think that in due course some of us will similarly have a wake for him here in the UK to remember the many laughs he brought us.

Thanks also to those who've added photos. Can I suggest it'd be fitting - but that this perhaps isn't the place - to be able to gather more of them together so we can all share in his rich life. If anyone has any ideas of how or where to do so, I've some to contribute (contact me offline). Perhaps this is something to do after we've established who are the friends & family and who are just the reporters (I'm Duncan Mather - an ex-engineer, former expat and now solicitor in the UK if anyone needs to check me out as genuine).

Thank you all again for helping the rest of us come to terms with Steve's tragic final departure. We'll all miss him.

Swiss Cheese

8th Sep 2010, 07:34

Help would be much appreciated by anyone who can direct me, in confidence, to Raymond Griesbaum, boss of Aero Service. A few questions need answering by him. Raymond seems to have vanished, which is causing a degree of concern to those picking up the pieces of this accident. Any assistance would be most welcome. You can contact me by private message here.

Siguarda al fine

8th Sep 2010, 10:33

SWISS CHEESE; Are you an investigator all of a sudden?

ANDYHG

30th Jan 2011, 12:52

Only found out about steve's passing yesterday.
A great bloke, many good times spent in the BULLS HEAD PUB.
Sadly missed.

Wengen

13th Nov 2011, 02:06

Hi Onetrack,

Maybe you can help. You seem to know a bit about the Congo Air crash carrying the Sundance executives. Do you know if there has been an outcome as to the cause of the crash? Has this been released? Do you have any other details? Also conflicting reports - was there a black box?

onetrack

13th Nov 2011, 13:41

Wengen - I have no further information on the crash or the situation regarding any crash investigation. I don't think anything has changed in the conditions within the Congo, that would give one any confidence, that a professionally-instituted air crash investigation has been instigated, or would be carried out.
A lack of qualified people, a barely-functioning Govt, poor communications, and any one of a dozen other 3rd-world country conditions, would all combine to result in this sad event being rapidly forgotten, and consigned to the brief description in databases, as - "crash reasons unknown - inadequate information and investigation".

Regards - O.

avionimc

23rd Jun 2012, 16:22

I flew briefly for Aero Service in 2007, including the accident aircraft. Sadly, I am not surprised; the company was of the utmost unprofessionalism, very cheap and without management. Poor aircraft maintenance if any, and no pilot training. The accident aircraft already had serious issues but the company always found pilots willing to fly without [maintenance] corrective actions in order to log a few more hours.

I find it preposterous that an attorney is now suing GARMIN in Federal Court in Chicago, claiming an hand-held GPSMAP 496, apparently in the cockpit and probably owned by one of pilots, was "defective and unreasonably dangerous" and caused or contributed to the accident.

As seen in Headline News | Aero-News Network - The Aviation and Aerospace World's Daily, Real-time News and Information Service (http://www.aero-news.net) :

Garmin Sued In Congo Aviation Accident
Litigants Claim GPS Was Responsible For The Crash

Twenty-five people have brought a lawsuit against Garmin stemming from an accident in the Republic of Congo in 2010. The plaintiffs claim that the Garmin GPSMAP 496 installed in the aircraft was defective.

The flight took place aboard a Casa 212 airplane. The accident airplane impacted terrain on a charter flight from Yaoundé, Cameroon to Yangadou, Republic of Congo. Eleven people, including six Australian mining executives, were fatally injured when the plane went down. The plaintiffs are residents of China, Australia, and the UK.
The Courthouse News Service reports that, according to documents filed in Federal Court in Chicago, the plaintiffs claim that the GPSMAP 496 was "defective and unreasonably dangerous" when it left the factory, that it did not accurately indicate the airplane's position, and that the terrain-avoidance function did not "provide timely alerts of approaching and hazardous terrain." The suit also claims that the GPS did not contain warnings of "these and other defects."
The plaintiffs say that because of the defective GPS, the pilot flew the airplane into the side of a mountain.
No damages are specified in the complaint.

Solid Rust Twotter

23rd Jun 2012, 18:37

Garmin have money. The company (if it still exists) sounds like the usual dodgy bare bones operation so suing them would be a waste of time.

TheAdmirableCretin

24th Jun 2012, 00:58

So.. a bunch of Congolese shisters who have to take off their shoes and socks when they need to count to 20 are suing Garmin... ?

onetrack

24th Jun 2012, 02:01

No, I wouldn't describe the plaintiffs in that manner at all. The plaintiffs are relatives of (mostly) Australian mining executive victims of the crash, who are, and always have been, intent on major financial return as their life aim.

Accordingly, I'd hazard a guess they are intent on ensuring their thwarted aims of leading the life of the rich and indolent, via mining returns, are going to be paid for by any target they can nail, via law courts, that has serious amounts of money.

American courts award mind-boggling sums of compensation on the merest sniff of derelict responsibility, and it appears that this is the aim of the defendants.

Good luck to them, this appears to me, to be just some way of taking out their anger on anyone within hitting distance. They can't accept the fact their relatives hitched a ride with a 3rd world aircraft operator and paid the price accordingly.

It appears the crash report indicates pilot error as the sole cause of the crash - and it appears that the pilots were relying on the Garmin GPS device as their aircraft navigational instrument.

Just had a quick glance at the Garmin manual, and the description states "aviation, marine and automotive navigator - prefect for air, land, or water".

I guess the lawyers will claim that the device wasn't totally perfect, as the pax expected - and the victims relatives are now bereft and need to be compensated by the squillions, accordingly.

One would trust that the judge or jury can make the reasonable conclusion that the pilots were the ones in charge of the aircraft - not the Garmin device - and that "pilot error" in placing total faith in one instrument, without additional verification, was the reason for the crash - not because of some shortcoming in the main instrument they were placing their entire trust in.