A plane crashed in Masvingo, Zimbabwe, on November 23rd.
The incident happened when the plane was transporting five people, including the pilot and four passengers, from Chiredzi to Victoria Falls.
All five people were killed in the crash.
It is believed that four passengers were Finnish nationals.
Kenya Airways flight KQ-704 had to return and make an emergency landing in Harare, Zimbabwe, on May 7th.
The plane heading to Lusaka, Zambia, had to turn back after it suffered a bird strike during departure.
The plane landed back safely. All ninety-six passengers remained safe.
Air Zimbabwe flight UM-467 had to divert for an emergency landing in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on July 10th.
The Boeing 737-200 plane heading from Harare, Zimbabwe, to Johannesburg, South Africa, was diverted due to loss of cabin pressure.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
A small plane crashed in the Vumba Mountains in Zimbabwe, on March 27th.
The plane was heading from Beira, Mozambique, to Mutare, Zimbabwe when it went down.
There were 6 people aboard, including 2 crew members and 4 passengers; all of them were killed in the crash.
The accident is being investigated.
A 4-seater Cessna plane, heading to Hwange National Parks, crashed near Lupinyu business center close to Victoria Falls Airport, Zimbabwe, in the afternoon of August 11.
According to the officer commanding Victoria Falls police, Jairos Chiwona, “The crash happened a few minutes after take-off from the airport. The pilot communicated that he was turning back soon after the take-off because the plane was having engine problems.”
Three people aboard the plane, including 2 Australian tourists and a German pilot, suffered critical injuries. They were transported to Chinotimba Medical Centre and Victoria Falls District Hospital.
The names of the victims have not yet been released.
Pictured: An Air Zimbabwe Boeing 737
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Chaity
What: Air Zimbabwe Boeing 737 en route from Victoria Falls
Where: Harare Airport, Zimbabwe
When: December 6, 2010
Who: not released
Why: Passengers coming back from Victoria falls got a surprise today as, en route, the plane’s fire alarms went off.
The pilots made a safe emergency landing at Harare. The cause of the alarm is being investigated, and there’s no indication of whether passengers were provided transportation, housing or if they had to wait until the plane was examined/repaired.
Although the head of Zimbabwe’s Civil Aviation Authority David Chawota confirmed with the BBC: “I can confirm that a 767 plane coming from London has had an accident at Harare airport,” the whole thing was a drill with paid actors.
BBC’s Brian Hungwa reported seeing a large plume of smoke and helicopters over the runway.
Apparently no one but a chosen few were informed it was a drill. Apparently seeing what the media would do was part of the Zimbabwe’s Civil Aviation Authority’s “exercise.”
Maybe I’m out of line here, but it seems to me a drill is supposed to test responses in-house.
The fire drill at a school, for example, involves firemen arriving and evaluating the response time of those endangered.
But if someone at the school sets off an alarm to see what would happen, or calls 911…they’re criminally liable. Okay, well maybe they were testing emergency services which for the CAA might be considered in house.
But testing the media? Allowing the news to go out to the media that there was a disaster? As someone who deals with people suffering horrible loss from disasters that are real, this sounds more like a cruel joke than a drill. I wonder what the IATA and ICAO will have to say about this. At the very least, it is unethical.
Chawota said “This was a usual drill for the period. We do this once every three years. This was for the benefit of our police personnel, security, aviation, medics, hospital — everyone was involved. This exercise helps the general preparedness of our facilities here.”
