Date & Time:
May 7, 1998 at 0830 LT
Type of aircraft:
Antonov AN-32
Operator:
Gama Air
Registration:
3D-DRV
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Durban – Bulawayo – Harare
MSN:
2302
YOM:
1990
Country:
South Africa
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
While cruising at the altitude of 13,000 feet on the leg from Durban to Bulawayo, the crew informed ATC about smoke spreading in the cockpit and was cleared to reduce his altitude. Shortly later, while flying at low altitude, the pilots open the cockpit windows to allow the smoke to evacuate and elected to make an emergency landing at Vaalwater Aerodrome which offers a grassy runway of 780 metres long and 10 metres wide. After touchdown, the aircraft struck a tree on the left side of the runway, cartwheeled, lost a landing gear and came to rest. All four occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
The smoke that spread in the cockpit was coming from behind the captain's seat as a result of a short circuit in the electrical system supplying the weather radar.
