Cape Town - The last conversation Ronnie Naudé had with his brother Steven was about fixing Steven’s bakkie.
Less than 24 hours later Steven, 53, was dead. The E-Med plane he was piloting crashed into a hill on a Durbanville wine farm, 800km from his home in Namibia.
Steven Naudé was an experienced pilot who had transported numerous patients by air. It was going to be a routine flight, to ferry an injured South African man to Cape Town International Airport.
Naudé had more than a decade’s experience in transporting patients.
Early on Sunday morning, he and co-pilot Amore Espag, 23, left Oranjemund with paramedic Alfred Ward, 24, their patient Gabriel le Roux, 80, and Le Roux’s daughter, Charmaine Koortzen, 49.
They were in reach of their destination when their plane crashed, killing all on board.
Le Roux lived in Betty’s Bay and had been visiting Koortzen, who lived in Windhoek. He had injured himself on Saturday evening and was being evacuated to Cape Town for treatment.
Naudé, who lives in Moorreesburg, in the Western Cape, said he last saw his brother in July.
On Monday, Ronnie Naudé recollected his last conversation with his older brother. “He asked me for advice about fixing his bakkie and I gave it to him,” Naudé said.
“We are all in shock because he died so suddenly. We have not made funeral arrangements yet because I understand the authorities are still busy collecting evidence.
“From what I saw, the bodies had disintegrated. I hope we will be able to get something so that we may bury him,” Ronnie Naudé said.
“He worked for E-Med for about 10 years, and he saved many people’s lives.”
Steven Naudé leaves a 22-year-old daughter behind.
Le Roux lived in Betty’s Bay and according to neighbours he loved gardening. Neighbour and friend Barbara Wallers said he took great pride in his indigenous garden. “His wife died about two years ago and I have not been able to get in touch with his family yet,” Wallers said.
On Tuesday, Air Traffic and Navigation Services spokes-person Percy Morokane said according to standard International Civil Aviation Organisation protocols and procedures, all aircraft-related incidents and accidents are investigated by an aviation authority of a member state.
“The South African Department of Transport’s Aircraft Accident Investigations Unit, in consultation with the South African Civil Aviation Authority, is investigating this incident,” Morokane said.
The plane left Oranjemund Airport in Namibia at 4am and was scheduled to land three hours later at Cape Town International Airport.
ER24 spokesperson Werner Vermaak previously said the plane was in a holding pattern due to a technical glitch at Cape Town International Airport, which affected the sequencing of departures and arrivals.
“Safety in the aviation sector is not an area where compromise is permissible.
“In our quest to provide a safe, decent and quality aviation infrastructure and services, we are continuously improving our safety requirements, in line with international standards,” he said.
The plane went off the radar at 6.50am on Sunday morning.
At 7.15am a crash on a hill on the Maastricht Wines farm was reported to the emergency services.
At 8.03am it was confirmed that there were no survivors.
Cape Times