Plane crashes in Free State 2009-12-28 13:55

[osiris]

Plane crashes in Free State 2009-12-28 13:55

Johannesburg - A six-seater airplane has crashed in the mountains in Harrismith, paramedics said on Monday.

Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said a call came through to paramedics about the crash around 13:30.

"They [rescue officials and paramedics] are using off-road vehicles to get to the crash site," said Botha.

[HeliOps]

Let's hope and pray for a positive outcome on the is one

[osiris]

from Avcom:

4dead, ac burned out, I was on standby to do the medivac... Sorry to hear that nobody made it.

[Gyroplane]

Condolences. Still very early days I admit, but sadly sounds like same old story: low cloud base and cumulus granatus. The latter always wins. So unnecessary.

[Goldfish Jack]

Without fail every single year it happens

Someone to/from the highveld to/from the coast takes on the mountains. So needless and such a waste of life.

These incidents are made much worse by a little thing called GPS. It is amazing how many people just fly a straight line nowadays and hope for the best. GPS has many uses, but there are also many dangers associated with it and this is one - flying VFR through cloud and thinking you gonna come out the other side.........

My condolences to all the families

[Christo]

Pilot was IF rated apparently.

[Gatvol]

These incidents are made much worse by a little thing called GPS

I dont think so, although I do agree it does make one fly straighter. We use the Garmin 530 for our missions and have another Garmin 396 to back it up with Weather.

This one has all the ear markings of that fatal disease "gethomeitis". It is usually spread after holidays and affects those who HAVE TO GET HOME, so they can go to work on monday. They can usually be found where the cloud base meets the hard stuff, normally within 200' of a summit..

Pilot was IF rated apparently.

Many are and although maybe not proficient other than the ability to maintain a rating in VFR conditions are also embarrassed or afraid to climb and call someone and say, I screwed up can I get vectors to VFR conditions.
As a result we have another thread such as this.

DONT let their mishaps go unread, make sure every Pilot reads these and remembers those who have paid the price. Every accident has a lesson to be learned if you are a Pilot.

[TIA]

From IOL.co.za: (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_i...4001220C444964

"Santjie White of the SA Search and Rescue Organisation (SASAR) said the aircraft, en route from Vereeniging to Margate, diverted to Harrismith due to a technical problem.

"Our aeronautical rescue co-ordination centre in Johannesburg was activated after the problem was reported."

Condolences to all involved.

[Gatvol]

diverted to Harrismith due to a technical problem.

Adds even more questions? Problem with the Aircraft?? Problem with Weather??.
Terms that come to mind are Land as soon as Practicable, Land as soon as Possible, Land Immediately..
Once we find out more, lets see what applies more correctly and what was chosen.

[xyro]

See on News24 everyone was from 1 family - very sad.

[Apollo]

http://roadsafety.co.za/2009/12/28/p...ar-harrismith/

[Apollo]

http://www.dieburger.com/Content/Sui...eg_in_berg_vas

[krobar]

Son 'devastated' by plane crash
2009-12-29 08:52


Johannesburg - A Vereeniging orthodontist, his wife, son and daughter-in-law were killed on Monday afternoon when his six-seater plane crashed in thick mist near Harrismith in the Free State.

The four were Johan Adriaan Venter, 61, his wife Elzabé, 62, their son Christiaan and his wife Christine (both 29).

Sergeant Christopher Mophiring of the Harrismith Saps accident response unit said the six-seater Beechcraft Bonanza crashed into the side of the Platberg mountain. The passengers all died at the scene.

“More details on the cause and identity will be known when the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) gets here tomorrow [Tuesday],” Mophiring said.

He said the rescue services called up an Oryx helicopter from Johannesburg to get to the scene of the crash and airlift the Venters’ bodies to Harrismith.

Technical problem

Santjie White of the SA Search and Rescue Organisation said the aircraft, en route from Vereeniging to Margate, diverted to Harrismith due to a technical problem.

“Our aeronautical rescue co-ordination centre in Johannesburg was activated after the problem was reported. Contact was lost with the aircraft and shortly thereafter the wreck was spotted by an over-flying aircraft when the weather cleared sufficiently,” White said.

She added that the plane crashed into a nearly inaccessible part of the mountain.

Paramedics and police, who were notified about the crash at about 13:30, worked at the scene until after 16:00.

Wilhelm Venter, the couple’s older son, said he and his wife Natasha are devastated.

They live in London, but visited his parents at Christmas for the baptism of their daughter, Sophia.

'Worst ending'

"Our daughter was baptised in a church in Vereeniging on Sunday. Sophia was my parents' first grandchild. They were so excited about her. I was so looking forward to them seeing her grow up.

"Sunday was a fantastic day. After the baptism we were all together for old times' sake at my parents' house.

"What happened today [Monday] is certainly the worst ending a person can think of."

They were on their way to OR Tambo International Airport on Monday to fly to the Cape when he received a phone call to say his father’s plane was missing.

“After that the news just got worse. About half an hour later, the wreck was spotted,” he said. “Natasha and I turned round and went back to Vereeniging.”

Johan Venter’s colleague, Dr Pieter Grové, said “something” must have gone wrong because Venter was an experienced pilot who had flown for 14 years and was qualified to fly in bad weather.

The plane was also equipped with the best instruments, Grové added.

- Reporting by Chris Ndaliso, Elise Tempelhoff and Sapa

- The Witness

Condolences to the family. I recall somebody once calling the Bonanza 'The Doctor Killer'

[118.9]

We have no idea what the technical was that caused an an apparently qualified IF pilot to divert into the clag in mountains. He certainly would not knowingly have put his family in danger; something serious happened up there. So sad!

[Muntu Pilut]

Originally Posted by Goldfish Jack

Without fail every single year it happens

Someone to/from the highveld to/from the coast takes on the mountains. So needless and such a waste of life.

These incidents are made much worse by a little thing called GPS. It is amazing how many people just fly a straight line nowadays and hope for the best. GPS has many uses, but there are also many dangers associated with it and this is one - flying VFR through cloud and thinking you gonna come out the other side.........

My condolences to all the families

Although I think you're right, still it's up to pilots to check MSA's MORA/MOCA. You as ATC when telling us "under radar control" means that you're also responsible for terrain clearance. Why not give VFR pilots "Flight Following", as you should be able to pick them up on radar.

[osiris]

google view of platberg (the yellow pin is at harrismith airfield):

aeronautical chart view of harrismith (note platberg elevation and the minimum flight altitude depicted):

to my knowledge no published instrument approach procedure exists for harrismith.

[osiris]

Yep, remember the 6 P's (Proper Planning etc)?

Part of your preflight prep even if flying VMC/VFR, and if you're IF rated and equipped is to review safety altitudes and plan accordingly for possible intentional or unintentional change to IFR along your planned route wrt possible diversions, freq's, flight levels etc etc.

[Apollo]

From Bingopedea:

In 1982 the V-tail Bonanza was dropped from production, though more than 6,000 V-tail models are still flying today.[citation needed] In general aviation circles, the epithet "fork-tailed doctor killer" became a familiar denigration of the V-tail model.[citation needed] Many V-tailed Model 35 Bonanzas are still flying, and they command a premium price on the used aircraft market.

[bogey 10]

Originally Posted by chris.greeff

From Bingopedea:

In 1982 the V-tail Bonanza was dropped from production, though more than 6,000 V-tail models are still flying today.[citation needed] In general aviation circles, the epithet "fork-tailed doctor killer" became a familiar denigration of the V-tail model.[citation needed] Many V-tailed Model 35 Bonanzas are still flying, and they command a premium price on the used aircraft market.

The aircraft involved here was a F33A which has the conventional tail configuration.

[Gatvol]

Yes indeed the nickname takes another one. It had nothing to do with the aircraft itself, but got the term as so many doctors were buying them. Comfortable, plenty of Power and Reliable. The problem that caused the name was that Doctor flew once a month or so and usuaully only from point A to B on a strict schedule. If weather or whatever came about, mattered not, he must get back and go to work.. Proficiency??, Currency?? Very Little. Attitude, Quite a lot. I have scrapped the debris off of more than one mountain in the Sierras where Doctor enjoyed his weekend in Reno Nevada. Hopped into his Bonanaza with the family all attired in nice Casino clothes and promply headed into a big wall of weather at 10-12k. Iced over and onto to some mountain. If any had survived they froze within minutes. Of course we would get the call to go "Save" them, which meant we would find them with the melt of the snow in a few months or years.
For some reason I think we will find similarities in this unfortunate accident.

Why not give VFR pilots "Flight Following", as you should be able to pick them up on radar.

Good idea, IF the Pilots would use it. It is used here in the states quite often, but one has to maintain the altitudes etc covered by radar. I think in SA it would overload the ATC folks. Im sure someone will answer that.