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Herald Reporter

INVESTIGATIONS into the plane crash in which a member of a South African civilian acrobatic air display team died at Charles Prince Airport in Harare on Tuesday, continue as the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe and other investigators join hands to get to the bottom of the incident, police confirmed yesterday.

The crash occurred when the Marksmen Acrobatic team were practising ahead of an air rally being staged by the Mashonaland Flying Club this weekend.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the remains of the pilot, named by his team as Mark Sampson, have since been taken to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals mortuary for a post-mortem. 

Sampson was 52.

The plane in which Mark Sampson was in some moments before it crushed

“We can confirm the death of a 52-year-old foreign national and we are currently conducting investigations in conjunction with the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe and other relevant stakeholders,” Asst Comm Nyathi said.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page on Tuesday, the Marksmen Acrobatic Team expressed sadness at the loss of one of their own, saying they were working with the Zimbabwean authorities on the cause of the accident.

“It is with great sadness and profound sense of loss that today, the Marksmen Acrobatic Team can confirm that Mark Sampson, outstanding aviator, honoured team member, trusted number-4 and loyal friend, perished in a flying incident in Harare, Zimbabwe,” partly read the statement.

When the mishap occurred, the four-plane team were on the return leg of a roundabout trip that had taken them from Cape Town to Nairobi where they had successfully performed an acrobatic formation display, and had stopped off in Harare for a similar display.

An eyewitness said the aviators were at the end of their display, which involved all four planes, when tragedy struck. 

A top CAAZ official said investigations to establish the cause of the accident are ongoing, adding that full details will be made available in due course.