Date 14 August 2011 Total fatalities 13 Total survivors 0 | Summary Formation CFIT Total injuries (non-fatal) 0 | |
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Site Mamotswiri Peak, South Africa | ||
Two twin-engine Piaggio P.166 Albatross aircraft, registered ZU-MMI and ZS-NJX, were lost near Tzaneen in South Africa on 14 August 2011 at about 11 am when they flew into a cliff face near the summit of Mamotswiri Peak in dense mist. The aircraft were carrying a total of 13 people and returning to Johannesburg from an airshow at Tzaneen. There were no survivors. No flight plans had been filed as no official air traffic control system is in place at Tzaneen's Tarentaalrand airport. The aircraft, which were privately owned, were flying in formation at the time, with some 150 metres separating the impact sites. They were seen moments before impact by residents of a nearby Bantu village, simplifying the task of the search teams.
The accident is similar to that of three South African Air Force Hawker Siddeley HS 125-400Bs which crashed into Devil's Peak above Cape Town on 26 May 1971 while flying in formation in dense mist practising for a flypast celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Republic.