SAAF crash claims the lives of three soldiers

LYDENBURG – On Tuesday last week a military aircraft crashed into a mountain on the Long Tom Pass leaving three soldiers dead and two critically injured.

According to workers of York Timber, they saw the SAAF Cessna C208 Caravan, just before it plummeted into a nearby hillside just before 10:00.

The workers said they had heard a loud noise and called one of the supervisors to inform him of the crash.

Paramedics on site told the newspaper on arrival that two patients had been flown to Mediclinic Nelspruit with serious back and neck injuries. The patients were transported by an EMS and a Working on Fire helicopters.

The three deceased were still trapped in the wreckage and the bodies would have to be cut from it.

No members of the public, private paramedics or media were allowed at the crash scene. Hoedspruit Military Force arrived with an Oryx helicopter at the scene just after 13:00 to start with its investigation.

According to information received, some 95 members of the South African Defence Force (SANDF) had booked in at Lakeview Lodge in Mbombela for training on June 7.

According to paramedics on site, the soldiers were all male. No names could be made available before the bodies had been identified and family members informed.

No photos of the wreckage were allowed to be photographed before the investigation had been concluded and the bodies removed.

The SANDF issued a press release with regard to the accident. In a statement the defence force said, “The SANDF regrets to announce that a Cessna aircraft from 41 Squadron had an accident in the vicinity of Lydenburg on Tuesday June 17 at about 10:30.”

It said the caravan formed part of 41 Squadron that had participated in an operations training camp in the region. “There were five passengers on board of whom three were fatally injured and two members transported to hospital with injuries. Their condition is serious but stable. A preliminary investigation is convened, that will be followed by a board of enquiry, to determine the cause of the accident.”

When journalists visited the scene on Wednesday they were again denied access to the site. Heavily armed soldiers stood guard at the wreckage preventing any unauthorised access. According to these soldiers, the bodies had been removed.

Local Fire and Rescue Hazmat operator, Mr Deon Broekman said it had taken them about an hour and a half to cut out the bodies from the wreckage.

Steelburger/Lydenburg News contacted Brig Gen Xolani Mabanga of the SANDF to enquire why journalists were not allowed to take any photos of the wreckage.

He told the newspaper that he was not certain why photos were not allowed or whether the taking of them would carry any implications possibly hindering the investigation.

Mabanga told paper that the names and surnames of the deceased and the survivors had not yet been made available. “Until we have received confirmation from the family of the deceased and next of kin, we cannot disclose their names and surnames.”

The newspaper can confirm that the deceased were a major and instructor during the flight as well as two captains.

Regarding the possibility that money shortages were the main reason for accidents like these, Mabanga said he could not speculate on the matter. It was still not certain what the cause of the accident had been. He also said he could not confirm when the investigation into the cause would be completed. “It all depends on the circumstances of the investigation.”

In the meantime, Steelburger/Lydenburg News had also learnt that the remaining four SAAF Cessna C208 Caravan aircraft were currently grounded in Mbombela.

Mabanga told the newspaper that some of the activities at the training camp have been suspended due to the unfortunate event of the crash. “We cannot carry on with the exercise as there are critical issues that first need to be attended to.”