Unravelling the mystery of SA's worst aviation tragedy

ALMOST four decades ago, South Africa faced the worst aviation disaster in its history.

- KARISHMA DIPA

This was on November 28, 1987, when, just after midnight, South African Airways Flight SA 295, en-route from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, Taipei, Taiwan, to the then Jan Smuts International Airport in Johannesburg, vanished from the radar as it was approaching Plaisance Airport in Mauritius.

According to reports at the time, the flight was nine hours in when it experienced a catastrophic cargo fire mid-flight. It is understood that due to flying just above the Indian Ocean, the pilots were unable to locate a safe place to land.

This tragedy, which placed a dark mark on the nation’s history, claimed the lives of all 159 passengers on board the Boeing 747, which was also known as “Helderberg”.

Now, 38 years later a new local show is shedding light on the harrowing ordeal. The M-Net production Helderberg, is the brainchild of Tim Apter, the show’s director and producer.

He explained during an interview with Independent Media Entertainment that he decided to get involved in this project because he wanted to unravel what happened on that tragic day.

“As a young South African, I knew about Helderberg but I didn’t realise quite how far-reaching the story was,” he explained.