Niël Terblanché
Forged documents and various other violations of Namibia’s Civil Aviation Act could have led to the tragic deaths of two men during a helicopter crash on the outskirts of Swakopmund a little more than a week ago.
On Sunday, the Namibian Police has taken a 34-year-old woman, who is employed by Namibia Base Aviation, into custody and by late yesterday afternoon were still busy formulating charges relevant to her alleged criminal deeds.
The arrest was confirmed by Inspector Ileni Shapumba, the head of the Community Affairs Division of the Namibian Police in the Erongo Region.
The tragic crash of a Robinson R44 helicopter last Monday claimed the lives of 54-year-old Jaques Jacobs and Dirk von Weidts (29).
Jacobs, who piloted the aircraft at the time of tragedy, was an experienced flight instructor and also served in the Namibian Airforce in his younger days while Von Weidts was a few months away from qualifying as an aircraft maintenance engineer.
According to Inspector Shapumba, the investigation into the accident revealed several forged documents which led the police to the female employee of the Swakopmund-based aviation maintenance enterprise.
“It is alleged that the suspect forged the flight test permit as well as the certificate of registration for the helicopter. She also violated several other regulations of the Civil Aviation Act (Act 6 0f 2016) and we are currently formulating the charges against her,” he said.
The Robinson R44 helicopter was reportedly brought to Namibia from South Africa and belongs to a certain Schalk Nel.
It is further alleged that Nel wanted to import and register the aircraft in Namibia and that certain technical aspects had to be complied with which would have made the aircraft eligible for import into and registration in Namibia.
A part of the process was to issue a legitimate flight test permit to the test pilot after which the aircraft could have been fully imported and registered in Namibia.
Inspector Shapumba said that the deaths of the two men last week could have been prevented because the helicopter should never have been allowed to fly in Namibian airspace without the correct and legitimate documentation.
In the meantime, Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi, the head of the Namibian Police’s Public Relations Division said in a statement that the suspect was arrested at her house in Swakopmund.
“Items such as two iPhones, a smaller cellular phone, two USB memory sticks, six computers, two laptop computers, 141 logbooks and three boxes with financial documents and invoices were seized from the suspect’s residence as well as the offices of Namibia Base Aviation after a search warrant was obtained from the Swakopmund Magistrate’s Court,” she said. Deputy Commissioner Shikwambi said that the suspect will be charged with fraud, forgery and uttering that occurred between 29 June and 12 July 2023.
She indicated that more arrests might follow because of the inquest into the deaths of the two victims as well as other incidences of violation of the Civil Aviation Act.
Deputy Commissioner Shikwambi said that the suspect will appear in the Swakopmund Magistrate’s Court later today. It is suspected that the fatal crash occurred after the tail rotor boom of the helicopter detached from the main fuselage while in flight.
The actual cause of the deadly crash is still the subject of a specialised investigation by officials of the Directorate of Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigations.
