SAPS launches inquiry into deadly plane crash
The South African Police Service has established a board of
inquiry to investigate the cause of a plane crash that claimed the lives of
five people on Gauteng's East Rand.
The police aircraft came down after it took off at the Rand Airport in Germiston on Tuesday.
Two SAPS members and four technicians from a company hired to maintain and service police helicopters were on board.
Spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says the sole survivor - a senior pilot - was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
READ: Five killed in SAPS aircraft crash
“According to a preliminary report, the aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from the Rand Airport just after 14:30 on Tuesday, 30 August 2022.
“Warrant Officer Willem Erasmus, a SAPS airborne law enforcement officer with 29 years service was among the five people that sadly succumbed to their injuries on scene.”
An inquest docket's also been registered to determine the cause of death.
