Johannesburg - The management of the South African Police Service has met with the families of the five people who died when a police aircraft crashed at the Rand Airport in Germiston on Tuesday.
Five people were killed, including one officer, and a police pilot was critically injured when the Pilatus PC-6 Porter crashed shortly after takeoff at about 2.30pm on Tuesday.
Police spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe said police management met with the families of the two SAPS members and the representatives of the company that employed the four deceased technicians.
The four were technicians who worked for a company which services police aircraft.
Mathe said Warrant Officer Willem Erasmus, was an SAPS airborne law enforcement officer with 29 years’ service.
The senior pilot, Captain Casper Swanepoel, who remains in a critical condition in hospital, has been with the SAPS for over 16 years.
Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili has sent condolences on behalf of the SAPS to all affected families and wished the pilot a speedy recovery.
“This tragedy happens on the eve of the SAPS annual National Commemoration Day as we prepare to honour 33 police officers and reservists who died in the line of duty in the 2021/2022 financial year.
“Let’s allow investigations to unfold to be able to get to the bottom of what led to this tragedy. Our sincerest condolences to the affected families, and we are wishing the pilot a speedy recovery,” said Mosikili.
Mathe said the police had established a board of inquiry to investigate the cause of the accident.
An inquest docket has also been opened to determine the cause of death of the five who died in the crash.
IOL