[Peetwo]

Convair crash South Africa. 

Via News.com.au:

Three Australians injured, one person killed in South Africa plane crash
AN Australian pilot is fighting for his life and two more Aussies are injured after a plane crash that killed two people.
Emma Reynolds and wires
news.com.auJULY 12, 20189:24AM

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The Australian pilots were due to fly the plane to the an aviation museum in the Netherlands. Picture: AFP Photo / StringerSource:AFP

AN Australian pilot is fighting for his life after he was injured along with an Aussie co-pilot and passenger in a horror plane crash in South Africa that left two people dead.

Several passengers and crew members were injured, as well as two people on the ground when the vintage aircraft due to become a theme park exhibit went down outside the country’s capital, Pretoria.

Pilots Ross Kelly and Douglas Haywood, from Sydney, were taken to Johannesburg Hospital with serious injuries, along with another Australian passenger.

South African Chris Barnard was killed at the scene and the second victim died later in hospital.

“We can confirm that a second person has unfortunately died. This was one of the people injured on the ground,” South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) spokesman Kabelo Ledwaba told AFP.

The group was on a scenic flight in a Convair C-131D that was being donated by South African tour company Rovos Rail Tours to the Aviodrome aviation museum in the Netherlands.


The vintage Convair C-131D aircraft crashed into a field in South African capital Pretoria.Source:Supplied

South African paramedics and emergency services gather at the scene of a plane crash on the outskirts of Pretoria. Picture: AFP Photo / StringerSource:AFP

Brenda Vos from Rovos Rail told news.com.au that the families of the pilots were on their way to South Africa on Wednesday evening.

“It was a scenic flight for the Dutch representatives from Aviodrome,” she said. “The plane was due to leave for Holland this afternoon or tomorrow.”

A spokeswoman for Aviodrome told news.com.au that several of its representatives had been discharged from hospital with only minor injuries. The company’s general manager is on her way to South Africa to provide support.

Mr Kelly and Mr Haywood had previously flown another vintage plane belonging to Rovos Rail from South Africa to Darwin.

The pilots are both members of Australia’s Historical Aircraft Restoration Society.

Mr Kelly has been a Qantas pilot for more than 30 years and recently retired as captain on the Airbus A380.


Qantas pilot Douglas Haywood was injured in the plane crash. Picture: FacebookSource:Facebook

Co-pilot Ross Kelly, who recently retired as captain on the Airbus A380 with Qantas and is pictured with wife Lyndal, was also hurt in the crash. Picture: FacebookSource:Facebook

Mr Haywood is a former RAAF pilot, and has worked for Qantas since 1984, where he trains new pilots on the Airbus A380.

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Australia said in a statement on Facebook: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Australian pilot, co-pilot and passenger who were on-board a Convair C-131D which has crashed today in South Africa. The passenger and co-pilot are said to be in a stable condition, with the pilot critically injured.

“The Convair was being prepared for a delivery flight to the Dutch city of Leystad, where it was to go on display at the Aviodrome museum.”

The plane ploughed through a factory near an airport in the Wonderboom area and crashed in a field around five kilometres east of a small airport, according to Tshwane Emergency Services spokesman Johan Pieterse. “It was obviously chaotic,” he said.

Video of the plane’s takeoff showed smoke streaming behind it and dramatic images from the scene showed the aircraft broken in half.
The SACAA said it would produce a report on the cause of the crash within 30 days.

South African Chris Barnard was killed in the crash, which occurred during a scenic flight. Picture: AP Photo/Phil MagakoeSource:AP

And via the Oz today:

Qantas pilots ‘sticklers for safety’
ANNABEL HEPWORTH, RHIAN DEUTROM
Australia has offered to send help to investigators of a vintage plane crash which left two Qantas pilots badly injured.

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Australian offer to help vintage plane crash investigators

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has offered to send an experienced investigator to assist South African authorities in the wake of a vintage plane crash that has left two Qantas pilots, one former and one serving, in hospital.

As video footage circulated showing dark smoke coming from one engine after takeoff, an ATSB spokesman said they had contacted the South African Civil Aviation Authority.

Two Qantas pilots, A380 captains Douglas Haywood and Ross Kelly, who is retired, were critically injured in the crash.

Two people have died, while Mr Kelly’s wife, Lyndal, was among those who were injured.

“Given the Australians reported to be on board, last night the ATSB contacted the SACAA and offered our assistance through the deployment of an experienced transport safety investigator with a relevant background in either engineering, operations and/or human factors if the SACAA considered that this would enhance their own investigation team,” the ATSB spokesman said yesterday.

“At this stage, the ATSB has not yet received a response from SACAA.”

A close friend of Mr and Mrs Kelly and Mr Haywood told The Australian that the aviation community at home had been “devastated” by the news.

Describing the two pilots as “legends of aviation in Australia”, the friend said the pair was passionate about preserving Australian aviation history for future generations. “They are absolute enthusiasts of old world aviation and the extent of their knowledge in this field is second-to-none.”

The two men were known by their peers to be “sticklers for safety” during their work with historic aircraft. “They would never do anything remotely unsafe, they were so pedantic that if they weren’t happy with something they wouldn’t leave the ground,” they said. “That’s why we’re all so shocked by this.”

The South African air crash investigator has assigned a team to look at the accident after the crash of the 64-year old Convair CV-340 that was being prepared for transport to a Dutch museum.

The 1950s-era Convair was on short test flight from Pretoria’s Wonderboom Airport to Pilanesburg when it crashed into a nearby factory. The plane had been due to leave South Africa for a multi-leg journey to its final home at the Aviodrome aircraft museum in The Netherlands. The aircraft had been donated to the Aviodrome by Rovos Rail Tours. While it was initially unclear whether the two Qantas pilots were passengers or members of the flight crew, Aviodrome spokeswoman Lisette Kars later told The Australian: “They’ve had a long time of experience with it, that’s why they were flying the plane.”

Qantas and the South African air regulator were unable to confirm whether Mr Haywood and Mr Kelly were passengers or among the flight crew.

Organisers of one of the ­nation’s largest annual air shows, Wings Over Illawarra, released a statement of support for Mr and Mrs Kelly and Mr Haywood.

Aircraft Owners and ­Pilots Association executive director Benjamin Morgan said the aviation community is “close knit” and that “a great number of us” know the “highly accomplished” pilots.

Additional Reporting: Charlie Peel

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