2011 South Africa Piaggio Albatross crash

Mamotswiri Peak P.166 Albatross crash
A P.166 similar to those involved in the accident
Accident
Date 14 August 2011
Summary Controlled flight into terrain
Site Mamotswiri Peak, South Africa
Total fatalities 13 (all)
Total injuries 0
Total survivors 0
First aircraft
Type Piaggio P.166S Albatross
Registration ZU-MMI
Flight origin Tarentaalrand Airport, Tzaneen
Second aircraft
Type Piaggio P.166S Albatross
Registration ZS-NJX
Flight origin Tarentaalrand Airport, Tzaneen

Two twin-engine Piaggio P.166 Albatross aircraft, registered ZU-MMI and ZS-NJX, were lost near Tzaneen in South Africa on 14 August 2011 at about 11 am when they flew into a cliff face near the summit of Mamotswiri Peak in dense mist. The aircraft were carrying a total of 13 people and returning to Johannesburg from an airshow at Tzaneen. There were no survivors. No flight plans had been filed as no official air traffic control system is in place at Tzaneen's Tarentaalrand airport. The aircraft, which were privately owned, were flying in formation at the time, with some 150 metres separating the impact sites. They were seen moments before impact by residents of a nearby Bantu village, simplifying the task of the search teams.[1][2]

The accident is similar to that of three South African Air Force Hawker Siddeley HS 125-400Bs which crashed into Devil's Peak above Cape Town on 26 May 1971 while flying in formation in dense mist[3] practising for a flypast celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Republic.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Two children among 13 dead as two planes crash in remote South Africa". Daily Mail. London.
  2. ↑ Location Settings (2011-08-17). "Plane victims' families 'shattered'". News24. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  3. ↑ http://planecrashinfo.com/1971/1971-24.htm
  4. ↑ "The curious Mercurius". 2002-05-03. Archived from the original on 2012-03-04. Retrieved 2010-03-23.

Coordinates: 25°05′S 30°11′E / 25.083°S 30.183°E / -25.083; 30.183

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