[AUDIO, GRAPHIC + VIDEO] Wreckage of crashed plane stripped

An eyewitness to Monday’s light-aircraft crash said parts of the plane allegedly have been stripped to be sold as scrap metal.

Jonathan Thiel and a colleague Ivan van Rensburg were among the first people on the scene after a Beechcraft Bonanza F33A light aircraft had crashed on the Munsieville ridges about 2km from the Jack Taylor Airfield just after midday, claiming the lives of two men.

“The bakkies were from the airfield and they were trying to see if they could salvage anything before everything is stripped” — Jonathan Thiel, an eyewitness

“We have been watching the wreckage since the crash. There was a lot of activity around the site a day after the accident and we initially assumed it to be the police, possibly investigators or the next of kin,” said Thiel.

“But yesterday it was very clear that parts were carried across the ridge towards Munsieville as well as in other directions.”

He said a black helicopter also was spotted flying over the valley – the same helicopter that landed on the ridge on Tuesday.

“I heard they were there to prepare the wreckage to fly it to the airfield. I was told they were met by about 20 people with pangas and axes who already were stripping the wreckage, so they had to abort their plans,” Thiel said.

Yesterday afternoon 10 December as they were leaving for home at 4.30pm two bakkies were spotted on the ridge near the wreckage.

“I was driving to the airfield to find out what was going on but I stopped when I saw a vehicle parked down the road. It belonged to a pilot who was observing the wreckage. He told me the bakkies were from the airfield and they were trying to see if they could salvage anything before everything is stripped.”

Thiel said it looks as if they were stripping the wreckage again today 11 December.

“We are here looking at it and it is disappearing very quickly.”

Police confirmed that police and the Civil Aviation Authority have completed the investigation into the accident that led to the death of instructor Tony Fuller and his student Bennie Oppal.

According to information a technical fault led to the crash.

Video of a plane that crashed in 2009

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