Examiner.com, 10 October 2011
Exclusive new details on Moremi Air Cessna crash
A total of 8 persons are now confirmed dead in the crash of a 15-seat Moremi Air Services 1996 Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, registration A2-AKD, serial number 208B-0582, which went down about 1:55 p.m. local time on Friday, October 14, 2011 while on a chartered flight in the Okavango Delta of Botswana in Southern Africa from the 3,280 foot dirt Xakanaxa Airstrip some 25 minutes by air from Maun Airport (MUB), to Pom Pom Camp Airstrip, according to dispatches published on Tuesday, October 18, 2011 by The Botswana Monitor, Fox News, the Aviation Safety Network, BBC News, the Daily Mail, and other media sources.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB) had initially reported that there were 11 persons aboard the ill-fated plane, but it was later discovered that the aircraft was carrying a total 12, including the pilot, when it crashed and burst into flames shortly after attempting to take off from Xakanaxa Airstrip.
A slide show and attached video clip also accompany this report.
The identities of the deceased have not yet been released. According to Letsholathebe Memorial Hospital superintendent, Dr. Maxwell Mungisi, the bodies of the 8 victims have been burned beyond recognition and are being held in the hospital mortuary awaiting further forensic examinations.
DNA testing will likely be necessary to positively confirm identities of the deceased.
It is known that in addition to the British pilot, named by BBC News as Martin Gresswell from Hull, England, and who was described by Moremi Air Charters CEO Sue Smart as "our most seasoned pilot with over 12,000 hours of flying", six passengers died at the crash site, and one other person succumbed later from their injuries, while being transported to a hospital in Maun.
Mr. Gresswell was a training captain for East African Air Charters at Wilson Airport (WIL) in Nairobi, Kenya, prior to becoming General Manager for Air Operations of Moremi AIr Services, and had also been a pilot for the United Nations in Sudan and Somalia. He had a distinguished aviation and military career going back to January 1980 with the British Army Intelligence Corps.
The dead include three Swiss citizens, two women and one man, two British men including the pilot, and three French nationals, all women. All of the 7 passengers who died were tourists on safari holiday. Their badly charred bodies were allegedly found halfway out of the plane's windows in apparent unsuccessful attempts to escape from the wreckage. Respective embassies in Gaborone, the largest city and capital of Botswana, have been notified.
The Swiss victims had been initially reported as Swedish, but that was eventually corrected as a communications error.
Four passengers survived the accident, including a French couple who were airlifted to a Level 1 trauma unit at Netcare Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa on Friday night, October 14, after a brief treatment at a private hospital in Maun. The man sustained burns while his wife escaped unhurt. They are reportedly in stable condition.
Two officials of the Department of Road Transport and Safety (DRTS), who were the only citizens from Botswana on board, also survived.
One of the men, Bernard Lottering, a vehicle examiner who had flown with his colleague to inspect vehicles owned by Moremi Air in the Okavango Delta camps, said that the aircraft went down soon after take off.
In an interview from his hospital bed a few hours after the crash on Friday with The Botswana Monitor, he said after the aircraft hit the ground he kicked out the window and managed to escape. Once outside, he extracted his colleague and two other passengers, apparently the French couple who survived. The aircraft had already caught fire and was engulfed in flames.
We exchanged email messages with British attorney James Healy-Pratt, who is head of the Aviation Law Department of the London based firm of Stewarts Law LLP. Mr. Healy-Pratt has been extensively involved with representing clients in similar aviation accidents in Africa in what he described as "hot and high operating conditions."
According to Mr. Healty-Pratt, "Overloading these aircraft has been an issue in some safari based operations. Competent operators will be acutely aware of the performance limitations as well as weight and balance issues."
"There has been much speculation about the possible causes. Options following EFATO (engine failure after takeoff) are limited, but competent pilots would generally not attempt a turn back to the strip due to stall dangers."
While it has not been confirmed that the Moremi Air Services flight was overloaded, we have also received information from a source who worked in the Okavango Delta for over 10 years as a Safari Guide and Lodge Manager.
He stated, "The mode of transport in and out of The Delta was by airplane, mainly Cessna 206 and the 208B Grand Caravan. Xakanaxa airstrip always stirred up butterflies in my stomach especially at takeoff. The airstrip is built in the middle of the tall Mopane trees, to land the plane has to drops down and to take off the plane needs to climb faster to clear the trees at the head of the runway."
"I remember the time I felt like the plane I was in, was going to cash on the trees but it just made it over the treetops and again it was around midday. When we arrived in Maun I said to the pilot whom I knew very well, 'we nearly died' and he said, 'the air was hot & thin which made it difficult for the plane to climb'."
"The former lodge manager and safari guide went on to say, "Why a good distance was not cleared of trees on both ends of the airstrip, (is because) the Park and government decide which tree to cut and not to cut, which does not make sense if trees can be allowed to compromise aviation safety! Xakanaxa Airstrip has been disaster formula waiting to unfold."
It is not yet known what actually caused Cessna 208B Grand Caravan A2-AKD to crash last Friday at Xakanaxa Airstrip. Moremi Air Services have temporarily grounded their fleet pending investigations into the accident.
Maun Police station commander, Robert Masibi, has directed inquiries into the crash to the public relations officer of the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB).
Investigators from the CAAB, the Botswana Police Service (BPS) and the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) have flown to the crash site, and are conducting their own inquiries.
We offer our condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of those who perished in this tragic accident.