Preliminary report on airplane crash expected soon
Investigation still underway
The crash investigation's team is in contact with the Canadian manufacturer of the engine aboard the Cessna 406 aircraft to determine what went wrong.
A preliminary report on the airplane crash in Windhoek, which claimed three lives just over a week ago, is expected to be known by the end of the month.
This is according to Ben Engelbrecht, an investigator with the Directorate of Aircraft Accidents and Incident Investigations (DAAII) at the works and transport ministry.
Engelbrecht said the directorate suspects that one of the airplane's engines failed, but they are still working to fully establish this. He said this suspicion stems from information shared by eyewitnesses and CCTV footage.
"We know the airplane sharply turned left – why this happened, we still need to investigate fully to determine," he told Namibian Sun's sister publication Republikein.
Engelbrecht said the DAAII is currently in contact with the Canadian manufacturer of the engine aboard the Cessna 406 aircraft to determine what went wrong during that fateful flight.
The crash, which occurred on 3 May just after 17:00, claimed the lives of pilot Rozanne de Beer-Olivier (33), her co-pilot Ruan van Schalkwyk (24) and aircraft engineer Armand Lubbe (25). The crash also damaged houses in the Pioniers Park neighbourhood.
Tragedy
De Beer-Olivier was an experienced pilot who had logged more than 1 000 flight hours aboard a Cessna 406 aircraft. She had been working at Westair since 2017 and was married to pilot Phillip Olivier from South Africa.
Van Schalkwyk was the youngest of the three who perished in this accident and had only started at Westair a year ago. He had been in a relationship with his girlfriend, Suné van Wyk, for a decade.
Lubbe had been with Westair since 2019 and got engaged to his girlfriend, Lara Engelbrecht, last September.
- [email protected]
This is according to Ben Engelbrecht, an investigator with the Directorate of Aircraft Accidents and Incident Investigations (DAAII) at the works and transport ministry.
Engelbrecht said the directorate suspects that one of the airplane's engines failed, but they are still working to fully establish this. He said this suspicion stems from information shared by eyewitnesses and CCTV footage.
"We know the airplane sharply turned left – why this happened, we still need to investigate fully to determine," he told Namibian Sun's sister publication Republikein.
Engelbrecht said the DAAII is currently in contact with the Canadian manufacturer of the engine aboard the Cessna 406 aircraft to determine what went wrong during that fateful flight.
The crash, which occurred on 3 May just after 17:00, claimed the lives of pilot Rozanne de Beer-Olivier (33), her co-pilot Ruan van Schalkwyk (24) and aircraft engineer Armand Lubbe (25). The crash also damaged houses in the Pioniers Park neighbourhood.
Tragedy
De Beer-Olivier was an experienced pilot who had logged more than 1 000 flight hours aboard a Cessna 406 aircraft. She had been working at Westair since 2017 and was married to pilot Phillip Olivier from South Africa.
Van Schalkwyk was the youngest of the three who perished in this accident and had only started at Westair a year ago. He had been in a relationship with his girlfriend, Suné van Wyk, for a decade.
Lubbe had been with Westair since 2019 and got engaged to his girlfriend, Lara Engelbrecht, last September.
- [email protected]
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