Africa-Press – South-Africa. Police have appointed a board of inquiry to investigate the cause of a plane crash that claimed the lives of five people at Rand Airport in Germiston, east of Johannesburg, on Tuesday afternoon.
National police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said six people, including two police officers, were on board the fixed-wing police aircraft.
One of the police officers, as well as four technicians contracted by the South African Police Service died in the crash. The surviving police officer – the pilot – is in a critical condition in hospital.
Mathe said the police officer who died was a member of the police’s air wing.
“The airborne law enforcement officers provide air support on aircraft and assist with operations on the ground,” added Mathe.
Mathe said police also opened an inquest docket to investigate the purpose of the flight.
One police officer, four others die in Rand Airport crash
“This is to establish whether this was a maintenance flight, or whether the whole crew was on board to conduct crime prevention operations,” she added.
Mathe said the police would only identify the crew members once their families had been notified.
News24 understands the aircraft crashed at the end of the runway. Attempts to access the scene were unsuccessful. Security guards said Rand Airport was privately owned.
William Ntladi, a spokesperson for disaster management services in the Ekurhuleni metro, said paramedics declared the five deceased on the scene.
He said:
SA Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Sisa Majola said the organisation would not be investigating the incident as it involved a police aircraft.
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