Plane accidents kill 16 in two years, says regulator
Tanzania People’s Defence Force soldiers carry the body of Nelson Mabeyo into a military chopper yesterday following an Auric Air plane accident in Serengeti on Sunday. Photo | Anthony Mayunga
What you need to know:
The plane, which was heading to Arusha Region, crashed yesterday morning at the Seronera Airstrip in Serengeti District, killed two pilots, one of them son of the Chief of Defence Force
Dar es Salaam. Plane accidents have claimed the lives of 16 people in the past two years with yesterday’s crash involving Auric Air plane being the latest in the country.
The plane, which was heading to Arusha Region crashed yesterday morning at Seronera Airstrip in Serengeti District, killed two pilots namely; Nelson Mabeyo and Nelson Orutu.
It was the sixth accident since 2017.
Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) director general Hamza Johari told The Citizen that the cause of the crash was not yet known, noting, however, that 80 per cent of the accidents in the world are due to pilot errors.
“You can’t avoid human errors by 100 per cent, but as a regulator, we keep on emphasizing on the pilots to train regularly, which they actually do,” said Mr Johari.
The Works, Transport and Communication ministry had already sent plane accidents inspectors to the scene to with a view to identifying the cause of the crash, according to the statement signed by the ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, Mr Thomas Ngulika.
Mr Mabeyo, son of the Tanzania’s Chief of Defence Forces, General Venance Mabeyo, was the pilot of the ill-fated Auric Air plane, which crashed shortly after taking off.
Together with his co-pilot, Mr Orutu, the duo left the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar es Salaam on the same aircraft on Sunday, according to Auric Air’s supervisor Peter Kimaro.
“Prior to departure the pilot had gone through the necessary pre-departure checklist and was allowed to fly to Grumeti to pick tourists who were supposed to be taken to Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA),” he said.
According to Mr Kimaro, who was at the airport, soon after taking off the aircraft changed its course hitting one of the toilet building at the airstrip.
“They both died instantly, but the Fire Brigade was on hand to put out the fire. The remains of the two pilots have been preserved at Soronera Dispensary waiting for further arrangements,” he said.
However, the bodies were flown to Dar es Salaam late yesterday on separate helicopters.
Yesterday’s accident was preceded by the other four crashes, which include the August 6 Tropical Airline plane accident in Mafia ---with all nine passengers cheating death.
The other four-seater Sling plane from South Africa, with registration ZU-TAF-19 crashed in Tabora on August 3, claiming the lives of two South African nationals.
