Plane hits golf course

By: DENVER ISAACS

TWO people were rushed to the intensive care unit of a Windhoek hospital yesterday after a single-engine Jabiru light aircraft plummeted to earth and crashed on the Windhoek Country Club’s golf course.

The two were identified as Wolfgang ‘Kücki’ Kuhhirt, owner of the Rostock Ritz Desert Lodge near Sossusvlei, and Aron Jeremia, one of his employees.
The accident happened right after takeoff from the Eros Airport at around 12h45. The two were apparently on their way to Rostock Lodge.
A spokesperson for the Works and Transport Ministry, Julius Ngweda, said yesterday afternoon that both men were reported to be in a critical condition.
According to eyewitnesses at the scene, the plane was seen shuddering just moments after takeoff before it smashed into the golf course and hit a tree.
The plane’s left wing reportedly caught the tree on impact, which then caused it to crash into a second tree.
Initially, the Aircraft Accident Investigations Director in the Works Ministry, Erickson Nengola, told The Namibian that engine failure was suspected to be the cause of the accident.



This was rejected later by Ngweda, who said the Ministry would inform the media of its findings at a later stage.
“We are looking at two possible causes that we think led to the accident happening, but we will inform you in due time,” he said.
Sources at the scene suggested that the aircraft’s engine failed on takeoff.
The plane lifted off from Runway 19, Nengola said, which is the Eros Airport’s longest runway, according to a recent report on a spate of plane accidents since last year.
In his initial conversation with The Namibian, Nengola said the fuel used on the aircraft would be tested to determine whether engine problems were the cause.
Ngweda said yesterday that the Ministry continues to work with members of the international aviation community currently in the country to try and come to grips with the increasing number of air accidents since mid-2007.
Yesterday’s accident is the seventh involving a plane taking off from Eros Airport since September 2007.

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