US embassy cable - 05PRETORIA258

UNCLAS PRETORIA 000258 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/EPS AND AF/S/TCRAIG AND KGAITHER 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC, EAIR, ECON, ETRD, SF 
SUBJECT: U.S. REGISTERED AIRCRAFT CRASHES IN SOUTH AFRICA 
 
 
(U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for Internet 
distribution. 
 
1.  (U) A U.S.-registered twin prop Aerostar (N7478S) 
crashed January 18 near Cornelia, South Africa in the 
northern Free State Province.  The aircraft, owned and 
operated by South African national Dirk de Vos, left 
Wonderboom Airport in Pretoria at 4:30 pm destined for 
Harrismith.  Cornelia Police Inspector Jacques de Vos 
confirmed that the craft was piloted by Dirk de Vos and 
carried four passengers: Gerhard Bekker, Edwin Mahabeer, 
Jaco de Wit, and Jaco Odendaal.  All were found dead at the 
scene. 
 
2.  (U) Inspector Andre de Kok, with South Africa's Civil 
Aviation Authority (CAA), told Econoff that the deceased 
were known South African citizens.  Johannesburg Consular 
officials verified that none of the victims were registered 
with the Consulate or appeared in the PIERS database. 
 
3.  (SBU) South African Police Services (SAPS) Inspector 
Tsotetsi told Econoff that heavy rain hit the Cornelia area 
 
SIPDIS 
from 14:00 to 22:00 on January 18, which may have affected 
flying conditions.  However, a reported phone call between a 
passenger and a family member in Harrismith 20 minutes 
before the scheduled landing made no mention of bad weather. 
CAA inspectors on the scene are trying to locate the 
whereabouts of the aircraft's five logbooks to rule out the 
possibility of airworthiness issues.  CAA officials are 
liaising with Dennis Jones at the U.S. National 
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). 
 
4.  (SBU) FAA records show that the aircraft is still 
registered to Aquila Air Inc. in Endicott, New York. 
However, an FAA official told Econoff that attempts to 
contact Aquila at the last known address have been 
unsuccessful since 1999.  CAA officials acquainted with de 
Vos told Econoff that he acquired the aircraft sometime in 
the past year. 
 
MILOVANOVIC