Beech 1900C: The flight that killed Goss officials
By Steve Paterno
September 7, 2008 — On May 2, 2008, the ill-fated flight, Beechcraft 1900C with a Kenyan registration, 5Y-FLX, departed the town of Wau in South Sudan for its capital of Juba with a quick stop in Rumbek. At about 0710 UTC, the flight experienced a loss of power in both engines, and crashed at about 15 miles away from Rumbek. On the point of impact, the airplane went into flames and was completely destroyed; killing the 2 Kenyan flight crews and 18 Southern Sudanese passengers on board. Among the fatalities were 2 high ranking South Sudan Government (GOSS) officials; Dominic Diim, the South Sudan Minister of Defense and Justin Yac, Presidential Advisor on Decentralization. Since the incident involved government cabinet ministers and has heightened the risks of flying in South Sudan, many concerned people cry foul, including the South Sudan President, Salva Kiir, who literally shed tears profusely. He alleged that South Sudan has become a “dumping ground” for junks by those who are exploiting the newly found business opportunities in South Sudan, the Wild West of twenty first century.
It is worth mentioning that this is the follow-up to part 1, in a series of investigative reports, under the same title “Beech 1900C: The Flight that Killed GOSS Officials,” to uncover if at all, any company, individual, or group of individuals in the process of exploiting business opportunities ended up using South Sudan as a ‘dumping ground for junks’ and by implications responsible for the crash of flight 5Y-FLX.
In part 1 series of the reports, a possible origin of the flight that killed GOSS officials is explored and traced to have either “been sold, leased, or donated by CemAir (Pty) Ltd.” CemAir is a South African based aircraft leasing company, specifically located at Lanseria Airport near Johannesburg. The company specializes in the supply of commuter turboprop aircraft to operators across the African continent and the Indian Ocean Islands. According to the statement by the company, it focuses on the United Nations and Non-governmental Organizations where it established charter and airline operators, and places “aircraft on short, medium or long-term leases.” The company has in its fleet, the Beechcraft 1900s and Cessna Caravans.
On September 1, 2008, another Beechcraft 1900C, contracted from CemAir by Air Serv International crashed as it flew from Kisangani to Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The aircraft, which was on humanitarian mission, was carrying 15 passengers and 2 crews aboard. According to the UN Mission in DRC (MONUC), all 17 people aboard the aircraft are confirmed dead. They include nationals of Canada, Congo, DRC, France, India, and South Africa. Though not all the names of those involved in this fatal crash are revealed, the South African media has reported that Rudi Knoetze, a 23-year-young South African experienced captain and an outstanding flight instructor who works for CemAir, are among the fatalities. Johan Knoetze, the father of the young pilot is quoted, saying, “the whole family is shattered” by the sudden death of “my baby.” The effort to recover the wreckage and retrieve the bodies are said to be underway and the weather are reported to have hampered the earlier search and recovery efforts.
This latest crash, adds to the already poor track records of CemAir Company. In the past, the company has accumulated worse crash records and underwent several violations of South Africa Civil Aviation Authority. To stay afloat, the company went through evolution of name changes while still maintaining worse records. Miles van der Molen, a principal of CemAir has been the subject of several investigations by the South Africa Civil Aviation Authority. Some of the terrified pilots, wished people like Molen should “have been shot” for the crimes of sending “young guys off outside the limits” for their demise.
Tragedies like these put the pilots and humanitarian workers in instant risk and hampering their much needed humanitarian work. That is why it was not surprising that the first concerns on this latest crash came from worried humanitarian workers in the fields. The harsh statements by pilots against people like Molen are also a testimony on the risk the pilots face daily when they are pushed to fly off limits of the skies. The conditions, in which these pilots and humanitarian workers are operating, are already worse, and it can never be ‘more’ worst when their routine duty involves risky flying for an hour mission and never to returned. Sylvie Van Der Wildenberg, spokeswoman for MONUC, describes the victims of this crash as people who “gave their lives in the service of peace.” Though the prize for peace is always high, humans should not contribute to increase the risks for those working for peace. So, it is appropriate that thorough investigations of these types of crashes must be conducted and corrective measures taken to reduce the risks of flying.
It is true that the continent of Africa has established itself as home of air disasters “with accident rates as high as six times the global average” due to lack of quality personnel, disregard for safety, and negligence. For example, in Sudan alone, following the crash that killed GOSS officials, the country experienced several more air accidents. In the month of June alone, several crashes occurred in Sudan. A cargo plane taking off from Khartoum en route to Juba plunged down, killing 7 and sparing only one survivor. An airbus of Sudan airways with 214 people on board veered off runway on landing in Khartoum International Airport and burst in flames, killing at least 30 people and injuring others. With such high rates of air accidents, certain safety measures must be put in place, otherwise, flying will remain nightmare in the continent of Africa. Unfortunately, the situation is even worrisome due to the fact that flying is a routine essential duty particularly for those who are providing humanitarian services to the needy.
Steve Paterno is the author of The Rev. Fr. Saturnino Lohure, A Romain Catholic Priest Turned Rebel. He can be reached at [email protected]