View Full Version : Aircraft crash in Namibia!
BAKELA
27th Jun 2003, 17:54
Sad news. :sad: Just heard on the news that a SOS rescue flight flew into the mountains in Namibia. 170km's from Windhoek. This happened after they picked up survivors from a road accident. Two South Africans and two other persons (presumably Namibians) killed in the accident. Hope to have more info soon. Condolences to all. :sad:
Kiwi Flyer
27th Jun 2003, 18:37
:( Condolences to all, just heard about it now.
Skaz, any details, I hear it was a mate of yours? Sorry to hear mate.
KF
BAKELA
27th Jun 2003, 19:15
Rescue chopper crashes
Johannesburg - Four people were killed on Thursday night when a medical rescue helicopter leaving the scene of a traffic accident crashed into a mountain in Namibia...
The pilot, the patient the team was transporting and two paramedics - one of them a South African - died in the crash.
The helicopter was leaving the scene of a road accident in which two tourists were killed. The helicopter was taking the third tourist to hospital when it crashed...
The report did not state the nationalities of the tourists. :sad:
126,7
27th Jun 2003, 19:37
Yes, very sad. I knew the pilot and as far as I know, he never had a chopper rating....dont know how accurate the news reports are at so early a stage. Journo frenzy:yuk:
Condolences to all
Balloothebear
27th Jun 2003, 23:22
News from the ground:-Aircraft was a cessna caravan,belonging to local(Namibian) company,ploughed into the Gamsberg Mtns shortly after takeoff +/- 6pm local time.
Sorry no gen on pax,but PIC:-John Bronco.
RIP
Gunship
28th Jun 2003, 00:36
The Sunject heading says "Chopper crash" ?
Four people, including two South Africans, were killed in Namibia on Thursday evening when an SOS medical rescue aircraft leaving the scene of a traffic accident crashed into a mountain.
The regional medical director for SOS International, Fraser Lamond, told Sapa on Friday that another two South Africans - Najmonesa Gaffoor and Arlene de Bruin - were killed in the traffic accident.
A third South African - Charmaine Williams - was initially injured in the accident, which occurred about 170km outside Windhoek on the Gamsberg Pass Road. The vehicle rolled after leaving the road.
An SOS air ambulance was called to evacuate Williams from the scene.
Shortly after the evacuation, the aircraft slammed into the side of a nearby mountain killing all four people on board, including Namibian pilot Jon Branca, 47, South African paramedic Marcel Naudé, Namibian medical assistant Daria Smith and Williams.
Lamond said the cause of the plane crash was still unknown and that Namibian Civil Aviation Authority officials were at the scene investigating.
:sad: RIP
Goffel
28th Jun 2003, 02:15
A major set-back in medical rescue.
Jon was an excellent pilot with over 6000 hours.Him and his buddy were nicknamed "Cow and Chicken".
His buddy of many hours and rescue was not with him.
Story goes that after take-off he turned left in the dark and could not out-climb the mountain.
A very sad and tragic accident.
I'm sure at this moment he is doing his aerobatics,which he loved to do in his spare time above the clouds.
Go well.
Gunship
28th Jun 2003, 16:18
:sad:
A paramedic who narrowly escaped death in a helicopter crash on the deck of the sinking Jolly Rubino cargo ship on the Kwazulu-Natal coast eight months ago, is one of the six people killed in a double tragedy in Namibia.
Four of the victims were South African.
Machal Naudé, 28, died when the aircraft sent to fetch a woman injured in a car accident, crashed near the Gamsberg pass, about 170km from Windhoek.
The emergency flight crashed on Thursday evening in cold, windy weather about 1km from the car wreck. Two South African women died in the car crash.
Naudé, John Branca, the pilot, Daria Smith, 22, medical assistant and their patient, 32-year-old Charmaine Williams, were burnt to death when their fixed-wing aircraft flew into the side of the Gamsberg. The cause of the accident remains shrouded in mystery. It's being investigated by the civil aviation authorities in Namibia.
Dr Fraser Lamond of International SOS says: "We received an emergency call on Thursday afternoon, asking for assistance after a car crash in which two tourists, Arlene de Bruyn, an environmental expert of the National Botanical Gardens in Pretoria and Najmunisa Gaffoor of the Goldfields environmental education centre at Kirstenbosch in Cape Town were killed.
They attended the congress in Windhoek of the association for environmental education in Southern Africa along with Williams.
De Bruyn was in her thirties, married and the mother of a one-year-old son. Gaffoor was not married while Williams, attached to the WWF in Stellenbosch, was a single mother of a 13-year-old girl.
Dagmar Muhlbauer, a friend of the Naudé couple of Richards Bay, says Naudé's wife, Anneke, is "totally shocked". She went to Windhoek on Friday to identify her husband's body.
Naudé is expecting the couple's first child.
:sad:
Gunship
29th Jun 2003, 13:09
:sad:
Jon Branca, die vlie'nier van die vastevlerk- vliegtuig wat Donderdagaand in die Gamsberg, suidwes van Windhoek, in 'n berg vasgevlieg het, was een van die dapperste en mees ervare reddingsvlie'niers in Namibi'. Hy het geland en opgestyg waar ander vlie'niers sou omdraai, dikwels in selfs gevaarliker omstandighede as die noodvlug wat sy lewe ge'is het.
"Partykeer, op moeilike vlugte, raak ek bang, maar dan vlieg ek bokant die vrees uit," het hy skaars 'n maand gelede gesê ná nóg 'n doodsveragtende reddingsvlug. Hy het tóé in 'n vliegtuig met 'n reddingspan aan boord in 'n onherbergsame deel van die Namib geland om 'n Nederlandse vrou uit die woestyn te red.
Telkens wanneer hy só agter die stuur van 'n vliegtuig ingeklim het vir 'n reddingstog, het hy self nie meer saak gemaak nie. Dán het hy net een doel voor o': om die lewe te red van die mense in nood, het hy ná dié suksesvolle sending aan Elize Smit, verslaggewer van Rapport, gesê.
Só was Branca, 'n 47-jarige alleenloper, volgens almal wat hom geken het.
Maar Donderdagmiddag het die ongeluk hom ingehaal. Hy het in 'n berg vasgevlieg en saam met sy drie passasiers gesterf, skaars 3 km van die grond-aanloopbaan op die Rooisand-gasteplaas, van waar hulle donkeraand opgestyg het.
Aan boord was mev. Charmaine Williams, die enigste oorlewende van 'n motorongeluk wat omstreeks vyfuur Donderdagaand (Namibiese tyd) op 'n grondpad in die Gamsberg gebeur het, mej. Daria Smith, 'n 22-jarige paramedikus, en mnr. Marchal Naudé, 'n Suid-Afrikaanse reddingswerker.
Smith was die enigste kind van David en Ria Smith van Windhoek. Die laaste wat haar ouers van haar gehoor het, was 'n SMS-boodskap om te sê sy vlieg Gamsberg toe.
Naudé het, nes Branca, al vantevore die dood in die o' gekyk op reddingstogte. Hy was agt maande gelede aan boord van 'n helikopter toe dit in 'n reddingspoging op die wrak van die sinkende Jolly Rubino-vragskip aan die KwaZulu-Natalse kus neergestort het.
Die vliegtuig het Donderdag net voor donker op Rooisand geland en om halfsewe (halfagt Suid- Afrikaanse tyd) weer opgestyg. Omstanders het 'n slag gehoor en toe vlamme gesien. Hulle het hulle na die toneel gehaas, maar moes toekyk hoe die wrak en die insittendes verkool.
Die Namibiese burgerlugvaart-owerheid het teen saktyd nog nie 'n bevinding gedoen oor die oorsaak van die ongeluk nie, maar vlie'niers in Windhoek wat die omgewing ken, reken Branca het hom waarskynlik met sy hoogte misgis op 'n plek waar hy uit die vallei moes draai.
Sommige meen hy moes nooit probeer het om in die donker daar op te styg nie.
Die heuwels van die Gamsberg is skouspelagtig mooi, maar verraderlik, het mnr. Hannes Smith, redakteur van die Windhoek Observer en self 'n vlie'nier, vandeesweek ná 'n besoek aan die ongelukstoneel oor die omgewing gesê.
"Dis nie 'n plek waar jy in die nag kan ingaan nie. Dis 'n vallei wat doodloop. Om uit te kom, moet jy hoogte kry en dan bo die berge uitdraai. Ná donker is dit uiters gevaarlik," sê 'n ervare vlieginstrukteur wat anoniem wil bly. "Dit was soos 'n ongeluk wat wag om te gebeur. 'n Mens wonder of die pasi'nt nie eerder in 'n gewone ambulans gehaal moes gewees het nie," sê hy.
Mnr. Wolfgang Grellmann, 'n voorste lugvaartkenner in Namibi', sê bedags is Rooisand 'n gewone plaas-landingstrook. Snags word die omgewing 'n donker, swart gat en die risiko só groot dat 'n mens dit net in uiterste nood sal aanpak.
Toe Branca Donderdagaand daar opgestyg het, was daar boonop wind van agter. Hy het Rooisand nie geken nie, en hy het vooraf sy bes gedoen om soveel moontlik inligting oor die roete te kry. Hy het 'n skets by hom gehad van die heuwels en berge in die omgewing. Waarom hy links in die berg ingedraai het, sal niemand waarskynlik ooit weet nie.
"Vlie'niers loop op noodvlugte meer risiko's as op lynvlugte, maar dit bly berekende risiko's," sê Grellmann.
Volgens dr. Fraser Lamond, mediese direkteur van International SOS, is enige nag-reddingsvlug van dié aard riskant. "Ons laat dit oor aan die vlie'nier om te besluit wat hy kan en nie kan doen nie. Onthou, dit was 'n mediese noodvlug, en dit is waarom dit gaan," sê hy.
:sad:
Kiwi Flyer yes, youre right, it was a mate of mine. I was on stby for medevacs with him on Thursday when the accident happened.
Today we had two funerals, first was for Daria, the female paramedic. Myself in the C402 and another 'kiwi flyer' in the C208, did a flyby as her coffin was brought out of the church.
This afternoon was Jon's funeral. Everybody met at the Fire Brigade, from where the funeral procession, consisting of 50-60 motorbike riders from Jon's club, about 6 ISOS vehicles and many more private vehicles, slowly made its way through town.
It was quite a sight, even more so since we went down the main road and traffic was stopped for many a street block.
At Eros we stopped at Jon's hangar, I was one of the pallbearers and we placed his coffin in front of he's Pitts and bikes, before the service started. Many a hardened biker and pilot alike wept openly, and nobody there was left unmoved.
After friends and family paid tribute, Jon's close friend did a aero display in he's own Pitts and then led a missing man formation flypast in Jon's honour.
There is an empty spot on the apron,
and an even emptier on in our hearts.
An aviator's farewell indeed,
Goodbye Jon
Kiwi Flyer
3rd Jul 2003, 18:08
Sounds like a fitting send off.
Was that BC in the c208?
KF
BC ?
The accident was in a C208, V5-CAS.
Engine shipped off to P&W in Canada, Cessna people here to investigate, as far as I know.
Kiwi Flyer
3rd Jul 2003, 21:00
sorry skaz,
bit cryptic, you said a caravan did a fly by with another 'KIWI FLYER", wondering if it was BC (Brendan)?
KF
I flew the C402 and Nigel flew the C208, for Daria's funeral.
Jon's buddy and 3 other pilots flew the missing man for he's funeral.