South African Airlink Flight 8911 was a positioning flight from

Durban International Airport Durban International Airport (formerly Louis Botha Airport) was the international airport of Durban from 1951 until 2010, when it was replaced by King Shaka International Airport, to the north. The airport is co-located with AFB Durban. Hi ...

Pietermaritzburg Airport Pietermaritzburg Airport is the primary airport serving the city of Pietermaritzburg and surrounding areas, including the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, Midlands and the outer west areas of Durban. Pietermaritzburg Airport is the only airport in the ...

, South Africa, that crashed into the grounds of Merebank Secondary School,

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

shortly after take-off on 24 September 2009, injuring the three occupants of the aircraft and one on the ground. The captain of the flight subsequently died of his injuries on 7 October 2009.

Flight

The flight was a positioning flight (ferry flight) from

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

, carrying no passengers. The three crew members consisted of captain Allister Freeman, first officer Sonja Bierman, and a flight attendant. The aircraft, a

BAe Jetstream 41 The British Aerospace Jetstream 41 is a turboprop-powered feederliner and regional airliner, designed by British Aerospace as a stretched version of the popular Jetstream 31. Intended to compete directly with 30-seat aircraft like the Embraer ...

with

registration Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...

had only flown 50 hours since its last service. The aircraft had been diverted to Durban from Pietermaritzburg the previous evening by bad weather.

Crash

At around 8:00 a.m. local time (06:00 UTC) on 24 September 2009, the flight departed

. Shortly after takeoff, the crew reported loss of engine power and smoke from the rear of the aircraft, and declared an emergency. Witnesses reported the aircraft flying at an unusually low altitude, and that the pilot was attempting to ditch the aircraft in vacant land surrounding Merebank Secondary School approximately from the threshold of Runway 24 at

. The school was closed on the day of the accident because it was Heritage Day, a public holiday. The pilot ditched the aircraft on the sports field of the school, avoiding hitting nearby residential properties; the aircraft broke into three pieces on impact.

Rescue

Rescue workers arrived on the scene shortly after the crash and cut the three crew members out of the wreckage using

hydraulic rescue tools Hydraulic rescue tools, also known as jaws of life, are used by emergency rescue personnel to assist in the extrication of victims involved in vehicle accidents, as well as other rescues in small spaces. These tools include cutters, spreaders ...

. The captain was airlifted to St. Augustine's Hospital at 11:00 a.m. local time (09:00 UTC) in a critical condition; the critically injured first officer and seriously injured flight attendant were taken to other nearby hospitals. A street cleaner on the school's perimeter was struck by the plane and was taken to hospital. The captain died of his injuries on 7 October 2009.

Investigation

Investigators from the

South African Civil Aviation Authority The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA or CAA) is the civil aviation authority of South Africa, overseeing civil aviation and governing investigations of aviation accidents and incidents. It is headquartered in the Ikhaya Lokundiza Buil ...

(CAA) were dispatched to the crash scene; the CAA conducted an on-site investigation to determine the possible cause of the crash. The

flight data recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...

and

cockpit voice recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...

were retrieved and used in the investigation.

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...

, the manufacturer of the aircraft, dispatched a team of technical experts to assist in the investigation should they have been required by the CAA. On 9 October 2009, the CAA issued a press release requesting the public's assistance in finding a bearing cap from one of the engines. The cap, which possibly separated from the engine during takeoff, could not be found at the crash site or at the airport. On 23 December 2009, the CAA issued the following press release : "In the case of the FADN (Merebank) accident the initial cause appears to be that of an engine failure during take-off which finally resulted in an accident when the human factor involvement resulted in the wrong engine being shut down. This type of engine failure has occurred previously and the cause is known to the manufacturerhttp://www.caa.co.za/

References

External links

Final Accident Investigation ReportArchive
by the

News archive
– Airlink – Has information about the incident in the year 2009
Flight 8911 at the Aviation Safety Network
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in South Africa Aviation accidents and incidents in 2009 Accidents and incidents involving the British Aerospace Jetstream Aviation accidents and incidents in South Africa 2009 in South Africa History of Durban Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error September 2009 events in South Africa Airliner accidents and incidents caused by engine failure Airliner accidents and incidents caused by wrong engine shutdown Events in Durban