/ 11 December 1999

ENGINE FAULT DOWNED PLANE

AN electrical or fuel supply fault downed the Piper Chieftain that crashed after take-off from Rand airport on Monday, killing 10 people. The Star reports that civil aviation investigators found that one of the plane’s two engine’s failed as it took off. Civil Aviation Authority technical adviser Rennie van Zyl told the newspaper that the aircraft was not overloaded at the time. The newpaper also reports that Miles van der Molen, the owner of the plane’s operator, Flightline Charter Services, said the charter company paid for but did not receive an operating licence because of an administrative problem at the CAA.