The moments before Steelpoort pilot’s fatal crash outside Mbombela – aviation authority reveals

Thirty minutes before Jeff Mabuza died in an unsurvivable plane crash near the old Nelspruit Airfield on January 30, he had tried to video call his wife.

This is according to the preliminary accident report findings on the crash and the moments leading up to it, compiled and released by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) recently.

The death of the Steelpoort businessman had sent shockwaves through the local aviation fraternity. Mabuza (44) was the single occupant of his Beechcraft E33 Bonanza aircraft when it crashed.

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The SACAA report said Mabuza had taken off from his private farm in Steelpoort at 12:30 with the intention of landing at the old Nelspruit Airfield. It said a flight plan was not filed for this flight, however, the flight was conducted under visual flight rules and that the Civil Aviation Regulations part 91 of 2011 were followed.

The report found Mabuza radioed an instructor at 12:11 to ask about the weather conditions at the airfield, and the instructor reported that the weather was overcast, but the clouds were high enough to conduct a circuit at the airfield. He also told him that it was overcast in the direction that he would be approaching from.

It said Mabuza’s plane was reportedly routed south-east towards the airfield.

At about 12:33, the pilot tried to video call his wife, but the call could not connect. The report said Mabuza had called in and checked with the air traffic control officer at KMI Airport a few times to check the weather and clear his descent to the old Nelspruit Airfield.

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The report also stated that Mabuza had all the correct licences, had recently refuelled his plane and that all seemed to be in order before and during the flight. At 12:50, he tried to call his wife again, but the call would still not connect.

“At 12:58, the instructor received a call from the pilot again, but there was about 12 seconds of silence,” the report said. The findings stated that it was reported to the air traffic control officer at 13:16 that Mabuza’s plane had crashed.

It stated that the aircraft had made impact on the rising terrain on a private farm near the airfield, and the wreckage was dispersed in a radius of 220m. The aircraft first impacted the ground with the right wing tip.

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“The accident was not considered survivable because of the angle at which the aircraft had impacted the ground, as well as the high-impact forces that destroyed the aircraft’s cabin.

“The Accident and Incident Investigations Division investigation is ongoing and the investigators will be looking into other aspects of this occurrence, which may or may not have safety implications.”

The outcome of the final report and the cause of the crash is not yet available.