Peter Otzen was born 10 days after his father died in the 1987 Helderberg plane crash. Now, almost 25 years later, Otzen is a law student pressing President Jacob Zuma to reopen the investigation into how Flight SA 295 went down.
Otzen, through a lawyer, has written a letter to Zuma asking that the disaster be probed afresh in the light of new material, conflicting evidence and the “apparent cover-up by the apartheid regime”.
But that was almost six months ago and the only response he has received from the Presidency is an acknowledgment of receipt of his letter.
Otzen said that if nothing came of his letter, he would take his fight all the way to the Constitutional Court.
“That’s where it seems it’s going to go. It’s a daunting prospect of citizen versus state,” he told the Cape Times. “Essentially, it’s the weight of the state against someone who doesn’t have nearly as much power.”
However, there has been a surge of interest in Otzen’s campaign recently, and before taking any further steps, he hopes to first find answers from those who could offer missing pieces of the long-unsolved puzzle.
The SA Airways flight crashed into the sea off the coast of Mauritius on November 28, 1987 after a fire on board. All 159 on the plane died.
It was flying from the Taiwanese capital of Taipei to Johannesburg, commanded by Captain Dawid Jacobus Uys.
It has been widely speculated that the fire was started by illegal munitions on board. There was an arms embargo against SA at the time of the flight.
It has also been alleged, most notably by forensic scientist David Klatzow, that Uys had asked to land, but was told not to, apparently because the plane would be searched if it landed in any other country and the weapons would have been discovered.
In the letter, Otzen’s lawyers say that there were tape recordings of radio communications between the then Jan Smuts Airport and the Helderberg. However, the tapes were “mysteriously lost” in the hours following the crash.
“We’ve been waiting 25 years for answers. How long will it go on? Another 25 years?” asked Otzen.
He is supported by his mother, Frenske, who said she remembered November 28, 1987 like it was yesterday.
She had stocked up the fridge full of her husband Peter’s favourite food.
That day, she was about to leave for the airport to fetch him when she heard on the radio that contact had been lost with flight SA 295. She took down the contact number and called. The operator told her: “Oh, how tragic. Let me put you through to my supervisor.”
The supervisor asked for her number and never called her back. She then saw the news of the crash on TV.
Peter Otzen, who shares his late father’s name, has teamed up with Klatzow and advocate Paul Hoffman, SC, in his campaign to find answers.
He urged anyone with information to step forward.
“There are people who know. Maybe people wanting to get the guilt off their chests before they die; 159 souls is a heavy burden to bear,” he said. “The truth will come out. It’s just a question of when.” - Cape Times