|
Mbeya plane crash engines off to US
2006-12-20 09:40:54
By Austin Beyadi
The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority will now send the two engines of the illfated aircraft that crashed in Mbeya to laboratories in the US for further investigations.
The aircraft’s geographical positioning system (GPS) gadget would also be sent to USA where the light aircraft was built.
The Cesna 310 R plane crashed on Saturday killing two people and seriously injuring four others, including the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Juma Akukweti.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Director of Safety Regulation (Inspector of Air Accident) Mtesigwa Maugo said the two engines would be tested to establish the cause of the accident.
Maugo said the team investigating the accident would, before the end of this week, release prelimenary findings on the cause of the accident.
He said the team has been on the scene of the accident and has collected crucial leds.
The plane, with registration number 5H-TZA and serial number 310R-133, went down shortly after taking off at the Mbeya airstrip killing a journalist on the spot and injuring several other people including Akukweti.
The second victim died on Sunday as doctors at the Muhimbili National Hospital were struggling to save his life.
Maugo said the aim of examining the cause of the airplane was important in an event of legal action against the owner or for insurance claims purposes.
This is the 4th plane accident to claim lives in a period of two years in the country.
Last year a cargo plane crashed in Mwanza killing all eight people on board.
He said the ill fated plane was built in 1978 and it has been flying in the country since 1979. It was being piloted by a retired military pilot.
|
