1999 Air Botswana ATR 42 crash

March 2024 1999 aviation incident in Botswana October 2026 1999 Air Botswana accident Occurrence 1999 10 11 yes Aircraft theft and suicide by pilot Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, Gaborone, Botswana -24.557 25.922 type:event_region:BW inline,title A2-ABB 1989-08 ex.jpg A2-ABB, the first ATR 42 involved in the accident, photographed in August 1989 A2-ABB, the first ATR 42 involved in the accident, photographed in August 1989 ATR 42-320 Air Botswana A2-ABB Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, Gaborone, Botswana Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, Gaborone, Botswana 1 1 0 Air Botswana ATR-42-320 A2-ABC (6432078509).jpg A2-ABC, the second ATR 42 involved in the accident, photographed in March 1999 A2-ABC, the second ATR 42 involved in the accident, photographed in March 1999 ATR 42-320 Air Botswana A2-ABC 0 A2-AJD AT42 Air Botswana JNB 1998.jpg A2-AJD, the third ATR 42 involved in the accident, photographed in 1998 A2-AJD, the third ATR 42 involved in the accident, photographed in 1998 ATR 42-320 Air Botswana A2-AJD 0 On 11 October 1999, Air Botswana pilot Chris Phatswe intentionally crashed an ATR 42 into a group of parked aircraft of the same airline at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone, Botswana. He was the only casualty. His actions effectively crippled operations for Air Botswana. Aircraft The aircraft involved, manufactured in 1988, was an ATR 42-320 registered as A2-ABB with serial number 101. It was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW121 engines.Unlawful Interference ATR 42-320 A2-ABB, Monday 11 October 1999 https://aviation-safety.net/asndb/323656 2024-07-27 Aviation Safety Network 2026-01-09 https://web.archive.org/web/20260109125546/https://aviation-safety.net/asndb/323656 live Ranter Harro Flight Safety Foundation Incident On 11 October 1999, Phatswe commandeered an ATR 42-320 from the Air Botswana section of the terminal at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport and took off. For two hours he circled the airport, radioing the control tower and announcing his intention to kill himself. The airport was evacuated as a precaution; passengers later reported a good deal of panic in the terminal. Officials in the tower attempted to convince him to land; efforts were led by General Tebogo Masire, then deputy commander of the Botswana Defence Force.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/471568.stm Suicide pilot destroys Air Botswana fleet 11 October 1999 BBC Online 13 January 2016 Phatswe threatened to crash it into an Air Botswana building, saying he had a grudge against the airline's management. He demanded to speak to Ian Khama, Botswana's then vice-president, but when officials in the control tower told Phatswe that there were people in the Air Botswana building, he changed his mind. Shortly after being put through to Khama, the ATR-42 began to run out of fuel, so Phatswe carried out a successful landing, but instead of surrendering to airport security, he proceeded to taxi towards the apron at high speed, slamming the stolen plane into two other ATR-42s on the ramp. All three planes were destroyed in a fiery crash, and Phatswe was killed. He was the only casualty. thumb|A2-ABD, the only aircraft left after this incident|alt=A2-ABD, the only aircraft left after this incident The three planes were the only operational craft then in the Air Botswana fleet; a fourth plane, a BAe-146, was grounded with technical trouble at the time. Consequently, Phatswe's actions effectively crippled operations for the flag carrier.https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19991011-0 ASN Aircraft accident ATR 42-320 A2-ABB Gaborone-Sir Seretse Khama International Airport (GBE) Ranter Harro Aviation Safety Network 2019-10-28 Flight Safety Foundation https://web.archive.org/web/20051108122054/https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19991011-0 2005-11-08 live Motives Phatswe had repeatedly threatened airport authorities, telling them that he would kill himself, but never gave a reason. At the time of the incident he was on medical leave from the airline, having failed a physical examination two months previously and been declared unfit to fly; consequently, he was not authorized to take the plane. Airport security was reported to be lax, and it was said to be quite easy for somebody to steal an aircraft. See also 1990s Aviation Botswana 1977 Connellan air disaster - suicide attack by a disgruntled former airline employee using a stolen aircraft 2018 Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 incident - Aircraft theft and suicide crash by a ground employee of Horizon Air Accidents and incidents involving the ATR 42 family List of accidents and incidents involving airliners by location Botswana List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft References External links 19991011-0 AirDisaster.com report on the incident (Archive) Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1999 Category:Suicides in Botswana Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Botswana Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the ATR 42 Category:Airliner accidents and incidents involving deliberate crashes Air Botswana Incident, 1999 Category:October 1999 in Africa Category:Airliner accidents and incidents involving ground collisions