Body of captain recovered
Date: 14 May 2009
The following is a rough translation from an Afrikaans article that appeard in the Beeld newspaper:
By Dries Liebenberg
The body of the helicopter crew member which was recovered from a Kwazulu-Natal dam the day before yesterday has been identified as the commander of the airforce Agusta A109 which crashed this week.
He was Captain Bongani Mdluli (33) of 17 Squadron from the Swartkop airforce base in Centurion, who lived in Riverlea in the west of Johannesburg.
Although the sombre search in the Woodstock Dam nearby Bergville continued yesterday, divers could not find any trace of Mdluli's two comrades - Lt. Simon Lehlohonolo Baloyi (27) and Flight Sargeant Moné Izak Zuidmeer (32).
The Department of Defence said in a statement that Mdluli joined the airforce in 2000 and qualified as a pilot in 2003.
Mr Sam Mkhwanazi , spokeman for the department, said that although Mdluli was the commander of the helicopter, it does not mean that he was piloting the aircraft at the time of the accident
The three men's helicopter was one of three Agusta 109's of 17 squadron which were on their way on to Dragon Peaks on Tuesday for a week of mountain flying training when the accident occurred at 11:30.
According to some witnesses, the helicopters flew low when the nose of Mdluli's Agusta suddenly hit the water.
A crew member of one of the other helicopters jumped into the water to try and help the crew members.
Divers from the police and navy raised the wreck to the surface of the icy water from a depth of 8 and 16m.
It was loaded onto a military transport vehicle last night to be taken to Pretoria for an enquiry, Supt. Muzi Mngomezulu,a police spokesman, said.
The same happened with the pieces of wreckage that was recoved on the day of the accident and yesterday.
According to Mngomezulu, a pice of the helicopters tail was found about 800 m upriver from the accident scene where undercurrents may have carried it.
Although it was pitch dark under the surface of the water, divers yesterday found a hole in the bottom of the dam where it was likely that the helicopter rlanded, but they could not find the bodies of the other two crew members.
Mngomezulu said that the tension was clearly evident on the faces of the divers and airforce personnel as the day wore on and their search remain fruitless.
