On 11 October 1999, Phatswe commandeered an AérospatialeATR 42-320, registration A2-ABB, from the Air Botswana section of the terminal at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport and took off. For two hours he circled the airport, radioing the control tower and announcing his intention to kill himself. The airport was evacuated as a precaution; passengers later reported a good deal of panic in the terminal. Officials in the tower attempted to convince him to land; efforts were led by GeneralTebogo Masire, then deputy commander of the Botswana Defence Force.[1] Phatswe threatened to crash it into an Air Botswana building, saying he had a grudge against the airline's management. He demanded to speak to Ian Khama, Botswana's then vice-president, but when officials in the control tower told Phatswe that there were people in the Air Botswana building, he changed his mind. Shortly after being put through to Khama, the ATR-42 began to run out of fuel, so Phatswe carried out a successful landing, but instead of surrendering to airport security, he proceeded to taxi towards the apron at high speed, slamming the stolen plane into two other ATR-42s on the ramp. All three planes were destroyed in a fiery crash, and Phatswe was killed. He was the only casualty.[1]
The three planes were the only operational craft then in the Air Botswana fleet; a fourth plane, a BAe-146, was grounded with technical trouble at the time. Consequently, Phatswe's actions effectively crippled operations for the flag carrier.[1][2]
Motivesedit
Phatswe had repeatedly threatened airport authorities, telling them that he would kill himself, but never gave a reason. At the time of the incident he was on medical leave from the airline, having failed a physical two months previously and been declared unfit to fly; consequently, he was not authorized to take the plane. Airport security was reported to be lax, and it was said to be quite easy for somebody to steal an aircraft.[1]
1999, botswana, crash, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, marc. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources 1999 Air Botswana ATR 42 crash news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2024 Learn how and when to remove this message The 1999 Air Botswana incident occurred when Chris Phatswe a Botswana airline pilot killed himself by crashing a plane into the airport apron and a group of aircraft at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone Botswana He was the only casualty His actions effectively crippled operations for Air Botswana for several years 1 1999 Air Botswana accidentAn Air Botswana ATR 42 similar to the one involvedOccurrenceDate11 October 1999SummaryAircraft theft and suicide by pilotSiteSir Seretse Khama International Airport Gaborone Botswana 24 33 25 S 25 55 19 E 24 557 S 25 922 E 24 557 25 922AircraftAircraft typeATR 42 320OperatorAir BotswanaRegistrationA2 ABBOccupants1Passengers0Crew1Fatalities1 pilot Survivors0 Contents 1 Incident 2 Motives 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksIncident editOn 11 October 1999 Phatswe commandeered an Aerospatiale ATR 42 320 registration A2 ABB from the Air Botswana section of the terminal at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport and took off For two hours he circled the airport radioing the control tower and announcing his intention to kill himself The airport was evacuated as a precaution passengers later reported a good deal of panic in the terminal Officials in the tower attempted to convince him to land efforts were led by General Tebogo Masire then deputy commander of the Botswana Defence Force 1 Phatswe threatened to crash it into an Air Botswana building saying he had a grudge against the airline s management He demanded to speak to Ian Khama Botswana s then vice president but when officials in the control tower told Phatswe that there were people in the Air Botswana building he changed his mind Shortly after being put through to Khama the ATR 42 began to run out of fuel so Phatswe carried out a successful landing but instead of surrendering to airport security he proceeded to taxi towards the apron at high speed slamming the stolen plane into two other ATR 42s on the ramp All three planes were destroyed in a fiery crash and Phatswe was killed He was the only casualty 1 The three planes were the only operational craft then in the Air Botswana fleet a fourth plane a BAe 146 was grounded with technical trouble at the time Consequently Phatswe s actions effectively crippled operations for the flag carrier 1 2 Motives editPhatswe had repeatedly threatened airport authorities telling them that he would kill himself but never gave a reason At the time of the incident he was on medical leave from the airline having failed a physical two months previously and been declared unfit to fly consequently he was not authorized to take the plane Airport security was reported to be lax and it was said to be quite easy for somebody to steal an aircraft 1 See also edit nbsp 1990s portal nbsp Aviation portal 1977 Connellan air disaster suicide attack by a disgruntled former airline employee using a stolen aircraft 2018 Horizon Air Q400 incident Aircraft theft and suicide crash by a ground employee of Horizon Air Accidents and incidents involving the ATR 42 family List of accidents and incidents involving airliners by location Botswana List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraftReferences edit a b c d e Suicide pilot destroys Air Botswana fleet BBC Online 11 October 1999 Retrieved 13 January 2016 Ranter Harro ASN Aircraft accident ATR 42 320 A2 ABB Gaborone Sir Seretse Khama International Airport GBE aviation safety net Retrieved 2019 10 28 External links editAirDisaster com report on the incident usurped Archive usurped Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1999 Air Botswana ATR 42 crash amp oldid 1215663521, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
