Helderberg air disaster conspiracy theories debunked  

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Silence fell as retired SAA captain Karl Jensen took the podium at Cafe@The Range, Kempton Park, on February 21, and opened his talk about the SAA 295 Helderberg disaster.

Filled to capacity, aviation enthusiasts gathered to listen as the South African Air Force Association (SAAFA) member and former pilot, who completed 83 successful flights on the now infamous craft, dispelled conspiracy theories regarding the November 28, 1987, mid-air disaster that claimed the lives of 159 crew and passengers.

Sitting around tables set in blue, white and orange, in tribute of the SAA Boeing 747-244 Super B Combi, those in attendance waited in anticipation for Jensen to reveal findings of the investigation, which was conducted after the aircraft plunged into the Indian Ocean.

Clearly emotional, Jensen explained that he has done extensive research into the matter and has hosted countless presentations in an effort to ensure that the true nature of the incident is well-known thus putting false information and outlandish theories to bed.

“At a cost of R63mil each, SAA took ownership of the two Boeing 747-244 Super B Combi crafts in November 1980. The crafts were christened the Helderberg and Waterberg,” said the highly decorated 747 pilot of 26 years.

“The Helderberg embarked on its first flight to Taipei, Taiwan on November 24, seven years before crashing into the topaz coloured water east of Mauritius.”

According to the flight manifesto, the flight to the former Jan Smuts International Airport, was delayed by 60 minutes due to storm and typhoon warnings off the coast of Taipei.

“Poor weather conditions delayed an incoming flight carrying passengers from a connecting flight. The delay was not due to unauthorised payload of military munitions, bombs or even nuclear warheads being loaded into the cargo hold, as many conspiracy theorists would like you to believe,” said Jensen

“The 47 tons of cargo onboard the plane was inspected in line with manifesto and aviation standards.”
Smoke in the cockpit

Jensen detailed the known timeline following the flight’s departure at 22:23 local time.

Just after 23:30, 49-year-old Dawid Jacobus Uys, a former South African Air Force pilot with more than 13 000 hours flight experience of which 3 884 hours was on the Boeing 747 series airplanes, radioed Mauritian traffic control, located at Plaisance Airport near Port Louis, reporting smoke in the craft’s cockpit.

At the time the craft requested clearance to descend to 5 000 feet in preparation to make an emergency landing.
Clearance was granted.

“It is important to note that an aircraft’s voice recorder, or the black box as it is often referred to, records 30 minutes of exchanges,” he explains.

“Every 30 minutes, these exchanges are over-written. Recordings recovered from the box contained 28 minutes of radio exchanges before all communications seized. The last radio message from the flight deck was merely ‘K,’ a chilling utterance given the ensuing tragedy.”

Search and recovery
Analog wrist watches recovered from the wreckage all stopped at the same time thus putting the time of impact at 00:07. This was later corroborated by a local fisherman who reported seeing a ball of fire crashing into the ocean at that time.

“This eyewitness account was vital in the search for the missing flight,” said Jensen, his voice strained.
“The craft was located within two days and a 15 week retrieval operation from the deck of the Stena Workhorse, commenced.

“The ROV Gemini submersible was used to meticulously retrieve debris which had settled more than 4km at the bottom of the ocean floor.”

Reconstruction of the 380ton craft was done and early investigations identified fire damage at a section of the bulkhead (top) of the plane.

“Uneducated speculation claimed that unauthorised munitions in the cargo hold may have exploded leading to the downing of the plane,” he said.

“Investigations however found that the fire onboard flight 295 did not reach below 1.5 meters of the cargo deck, proving that it started higher up.

“Following extensive investigations and simulations it was determined that wet archs, emitted from the loom of wiring which includes electrical cabling, oxygen and other operating components, located at the bulkhead of the plane, caused sparks thus leading to a fast spreading fire.

“Post-mortems further indicated that those onboard suffered from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. Everyone had most likely died before hitting the water.”

Wiping tears from his eyes, Jensen concluded by saying that following the catastrophic disaster, SAA sold the Waterberg 747-244 Super B Combi and its policy was amended stating that combination crafts (passenger and cargo) will no longer form part of its fleet.

A total of R300mil was paid out in compensation packages to those affected.

“What happened in the early hours of November 28 can only be described as an unthinkable disaster,” he said.

“Many families were torn apart, children lost their parents and us, at SAA, lost dear friends. My sole purpose by hosting these talks is dedicated to their memory.”

For more information about SAAFA and their monthly meetings, contact branch chairperson Roelf Rossouw on 073 186 7761 or [email protected]