Media Release
Aircraft
Accident: Air Aquarius HS 748 in mountain range north of the George in the
Southern Cape.
The Civil Aviation
Authority (CAA) Accident Investigation team arrived on the site of the Air
Aquarius HS 748 accident in George on Saturday afternoon. The aircraft was
conveying freight from Bloemfontein to George where it was scheduled to land at
approximately 07h00
local time. No communications was received from the aircraft after it
unsuccessfully attempted to land in poor weather conditions at George.
Bad weather initially hampered the rescue
efforts. The search and rescue team hence located the crash site shortly after
noon and was only able to access the wreckage later by helicopter.
"The wreckage is located in extremely
dangerous parts of the Outeniqua Mountain near Van Dalens Kloof. Part of the
wreckage is hanging over the side of a cliff, making the recovery and accident
investigation very dangerous" said the Commissioner for Civil Aviation,
Mr. Trevor Abrahams.
The bodies of the two crewmembers and a
passenger were recovered from the wreck. However, bad light and the precarious
conditions prevented the recovery team bringing the bodies from the mountain.
Currently the rescue team in conjunction with the South African Air Force are
in the process of removing the bodies from the site The CAA accident
investigators are currently also on the site. They will remain there until late
this afternoon. The names of the deceased will be released once the next of kin
are notified and they have been positively identified.
The CAA investigation team will proceed
with further investigations to determine the probable cause of the accident, at
the crash site as well as interviewing witnesses, Air traffic control and other
relevant parties. The accident investigation will then focus on the aircraft,
crew and operator records, autopsy reports, mechanical analysis where deemed
necessary and operational analyses to develop a holistic analysis of this
tragic event.
A CAA media statement will follow later
this afternoon: Identity of deceased.
Trevor Davids
SA Civil Aviation Authority