The Helderberg Crash Disaster Is Being Further Investigated

23 JUNE 2000

Cabinet on Wednesday, 14 June 2000 reviewed the information available with regard to the Helderberg Crash Disaster which occurred on 28 November 1987.

A board of enquiry headed by Mr Justice Margo conducted an investigation. It found that:

1. The flight had proceeded normally until some nine hours into the flight when an intense fire developed in the right-hand forward pallet in the main deck cargo hold.
2. The substances involved in the combustion included plastic and cardboard packing materials, but the actual source of ignition could not be determined.
3. Sabotage, explosion and the presence of pressure time activated device were unlikely to have been the cause of ignition.
4. The fire / smoke detection systems and fire fighting facilities provided for the aircraft's main deck cargo were inadequate.
5. The fire generated a lot of smoke, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, which penetrated to the passenger cabin and possibly the cockpit.
6. The fire caused extensive damage to several of the aircraft's components, including the wires serving the power supply to the cockpit voice recorder.
7. The aircraft crashed into the sea some three minutes after the last transmission from the captain to the Mauritius control tower and was not under control at the time of the crash.
8. Causes for the loss of control were attributed to one of the two listed below:-

i) Pilot incapacity due to smoke inhalation, carbon dioxide and / or carbon monoxide poisoning, disorientation, lack of cockpit visibility due to smoke or pilot distraction.

ii) Damage to the structure and / or the control systems of the aircraft caused directly nor indirectly by the fire.

Since then a number of allegations have been made which suggest that there may have been an earlier fire (information about which has allegedly been suppressed), that the aircraft was ordered to fly on and that dangerous cargo was on the flight. The suspicion is further fueled by the fact that a ZUR tape recording of flight had disappeared.

The tape from the Cockpit Voice Recorder has also been transcribed but there are differing interpretations as to what it contained.

As a result of all this, the SA Civil Aviation Authority has been asked by Government to conduct further investigations and to make an assessment of all evidence available. In addition the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions has seconded a senior Advocate, Mr John Welsh, also to participate in the investigation. The reports of these two officers are not yet available.

Accordingly Cabinet decided that a decision on whether to reopen the enquiry or not should be withheld until such time as the relevant reports have been made available, after which Cabinet will look at the matter again.

In the meanwhile the TRC has made available to Government the transcript of evidence taken at an investigation conducted by the TRC in late 1998. This transcript has been studied. Cabinet was of the view that there was no reason to suppress the contents. The contents should be made available to the public and therefore took a decision to make the transcript public as soon as possible after consulting with the TRC. This is now being done.

The matter will be further looked in once the reports of the Civil Aviation Authority and Director of Public Prosecutions have been received.

Issued by Mike Mabasa
Manager: Media Liaison
Ministry of Transport
083 680 7048