Cape Town - The Namibian medical rescue emergency services company that owned the light aircraft that crashed, killing five people last Sunday, has alluded to a “go slow strike” at the Cape Town International Airport at the time of the crash.
Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) has denied the claim.
Bertus Struwig, chief executive of E-Med Rescue 24, was in Cape Town last week in the wake of the crash on the hills of the Tygerberg Nature Reserve.
He visited the scene of the crash in which five people died. Emergency rescue teams responded to the crash just after 8am last Sunday.
The aircraft was transporting patient, Gabriel le Roux, 80, and his daughter, Charmaine Koortzen, 49, both South Africans, from Oranjemund in Namibia.
Paramedic, Alfred Ward, 24; pilot Steven Naude, 53, and co-pilot Amore Espag, 23 - all Namibians - were also killed in the crash.
The plane, a Cessna 441 Conquest, was due to land at Cape Town International Airport before Le Roux was to be transported to the Panorama Mediclinic for treatment.
Louw was said to have had a fall in which he injured his head and needed specialised treatment.
Struwig said on Sunday: “The radar system at the airport was not working at the time of the accident, and there was a go-slow strike.
“I don’t know if the staff has access to the voice recording of the pilot and the tower’s conversation.”
Acsa’s spokesman, Colin Naidoo said there was no go-slow at the time of the crash: “I know nothing about a go-slow. It’s the first time I hear of it,” he said.
Air Traffic Navigational Services’ spokesman, Percy Morokane said last week there had been a technical glitch last Sunday morning which was resolved a while later. The glitch relates to flight slot co-ordination, he said: “The technical failure could have been experienced anywhere in the world.”
In a statement, E-Med Rescue 24 said Acsa placed all aircraft approaching Cape Town International Airport, at the time, in a holding pattern due to a technical fault with their radar. The E-med Rescue 24 aircraft was also in the holding pattern.
Minister of Transport Dipuo Peters reportedly dismissed any reports of “nationwide flight radar failure” saying it was misleading and without substance.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday in Windhoek for the five people that died.
Struwig said: “We’ll have a memorial service tomorrow from 12 noon to 2pm for all the five victims’ families who will be flown in.”
He said families would decide when to bury their loved ones once the DNA tests are completed.
Cape Argus