Desperate efforts to find missing planes

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http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Desperate-efforts-to-find-missing-planes-20110814

Cape Town - The search for two missing Piaggio P166 aircraft is continuing.

The alert was sounded after the two aircraft, which had taken part in an airshow at Tzaneen, failed to arrive at the Rand Airport at Germiston on time.

Search parties on foot are scouring the areas where the aircraft may have gone down. The Wolkberg area near Tzaneen is one of the areas being searched as aircraft were reported in the area.

The two Albatross planes had been at the Tzaneen Air Show and left for Rand Airport before lunch on Sunday in marginal weather. There are believed to be between 12 and 14 people on board, including the pilots. It is believed that the aircraft would have flown in formation flying directly to Rand Airport.

Search and Rescue's Johnny Smit says that all the standard procedures were followed after the aircraft were reported missing. An air search was conducted on Sunday afternoon till poor light forced the aircraft to withdraw. Several of the pilots who had been at the show joined in the search.

A new air search will be launched at 05:00 on Monday morning, weather permitting.

In the meantime attempts are being made to triangulate the last known positions of cell phones which may have been on board, according to a post on iflyafrica.

It is reported the several prominent people in aviation circles were on board as well as the families of pilots taking part in the air show.
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Hope the people who were/are on-board are ok...
 
If flying in formation then a possible collision seems most likely.
 
Ghost29 said:
If flying in formation then a possible collision seems most likely.
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Either mid air collision or both flew into terrain at the same time.
Flying in close proximity to other aircraft in clear weather is dangerous enough - doing so in marginal weather is just asking for trouble IMO.
It won't be technical trouble as the chances of four engines failing at the same time or of a wing falling off both aircraft at the same time is pretty slim.
It happened too quickly for either crew to contact ATC and issue a Mayday call.
Sad loss of people and aircraft.
 
Consecutive items with identical timestamp on News24's RSS page:
Search for missing planes suspended
‎Today, ‎August ‎15, ‎2011, ‏‎19 minutes ago
The search for 12 people in two light aircraft that went missing in Limpopo has been put on hold due to bad weather, but rescuers remain positive.

Search for missing planes resumes
‎Today, ‎August ‎15, ‎2011, ‏‎19 minutes ago
Pilots have resumed the search for two light aircraft which went missing in Limpopo, after overnight foot patrols found nothing, Search and Rescue SA says.
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So which is it?
 
The Editor of SA Flyer magazine was on 702 this morning with John Robbie; he seemed to think that the most plausible explanation would be collision into a mountain / terrain due to cloud cover.

:( I hope they find these planes soon, and the weather isnt helping either.
 
according to the radio they've found the wreckage
 
Johannesburg - The wreckage of two light aircraft that went missing in George's Valley, Limpopo has been found, SABC radio news reported on Monday.

It was presumed that there was a mid air collision, SA Flyer magazine editor Guy Leitch told the broadcaster.
 
It hasn't been found yet ... Guy Letich did not tell that to them and it was a false claim by some ignoramous.
 
News24 posted the same story of wreckage found,seems like it's a release from SAPA
 
http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2011/08/15/search-and-rescue-denies-plane-wreckage-found

Search and Rescue SA denies reports that the wreckage of two light aircraft that went missing in George's Valley, Limpopo has been found.

"The search is still on," said spokesman Johnny Smith.

"The weather is getting better so air rescue will resume shortly."

SABC radio news earlier reported that the wreckage had been found.

"I'm getting breaking news right now that they have found the wreckage and there's a suggestion there may have been a mid air collision at this stage," SA Flyer magazine editor Guy Leitch told the broadcaster.

The Albatross planes, carrying six people each, were presumed to be in the George's Valley area, between Polokwane and Tzaneen.

They took off from a landing strip in Tarentaal, a small farming community in Tzaneen, on Sunday and were headed to Rand Airport in Germiston.

Overnight foot patrols had searched in Tzaneen for the two planes which went missing while flying to Gauteng after an airshow there.

The air search for the two planes had been suspended on Monday morning because of bad weather but ground search had continued.

An SA National Defence Force helicopter, with a rescue team of 10, was also searching the area, said Smith.

It was the only aircraft that was well equipped to fly through the poor weather.

The search had moved south of Wolkberg, which is part of the Drakensberg ranch about 80km from Tzaneen on Monday afternoon
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Seems they've been found.
News24
Cape Town - The wreckage of two Albatross planes were found early on Tuesday morning, Search and Rescue SA’s Johnny Smit confirmed to News24.

He said that rescuers were being hoisted down to the wreckage “as we speak” to look for survivors.

The wreckage was found in the Mamotswiri Peak region.

The planes went missing on Sunday after leaving an air show in Tzaneen and heading for an airport in Gauteng.
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