New Delhi: There are several devastating aviation accidents in history which will send a chill down our spine due to the intensity of the tragedies. One of them is the accident of South African Airways Flight 295 which led to the death of more than a hundred people. It was an international passenger flight which was scheduled to travel from Taiwan’s Chiang Kai-shek International Airport to South Africa’s Jan Smuts International Airport. In this article, we will take a look at the terrible aviation accident which took place on November 28, 1987.
Flight 295: The aircraft and a surprise inspection
South African Airways Flight 295 was a Boeing 747-244BM Combi and was named Helderberg. It made its first flight on November 12, 1980, and South African Airways got it on November 24, 1980.
There were 140 passengers and six pallets of cargo on board. A surprise inspection was done by a Taiwanese customs official but he did not find anything suspicious. The flight’s captain was Dawid Jacobus Uys who was 49 years old at that time. He was a former pilot of the South African Air Force and was considered skilled and professional. The first officer was David Attwell, the relief first officer Geoffrey Birchall, and the flight engineer was Giuseppe “Joe” Bellagarda.
South African Airways Flight 295: The accident
Flight 295 took off from Taipei Chiang Kai Shek International Airport at 14:23 UTC on November 27, 1987. At some point, a fire broke out in the main deck’s cargo section and it was probably not put out before the impact. There is no evidence that two of the cabin doors were opened as per the rule in such cases.
The fire destroyed the important electrical systems of the aircraft which led to loss of communication and aircraft’s control. It broke apart while it was in the air with the tail section breaking off first, and it crashed into the Indian Ocean. It is said the flight crew was incapacitated by the smoke and fire or the control systems were so damaged that the plane could not be controlled before it hit the ocean. The accident killed all 159 people on board.
The cause of the fire could be determined in the official inquiry and it led to conspiracy theories, debates and speculation about the nature of the cargo of Flight 295. There have been post-apartheid investigations and relatives of the deceased have called to re-open the investigation in the years following the accident.
South African Airways Flight 295 was a Boeing 747-244BM Combi and was named Helderberg. There were 140 passengers and six pallets of cargo on board. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
