SA plane missing

2003-06-16 14:05

Dar Es Salaam - A Zambia-bound private aircraft with two crew members on board has been missing for four days after leaving Dar es Salaam last week, Tanzanian civil aviation authorities said on Monday.

The South African-registered Piper Seneca PA43 was expected to touch down at Mfue airport in Zambia at 10:44 on Thursday, Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) Director General Margaret Munyagi said in a statement sent to AFP.

"We (TCAA) still don't know what has happened ... We have deployed a government plane to patrol the route in search of the missing plane," Munyagi said, adding that her office had already informed aviation authorities in neighbouring Malawi and Zambia.

TCAA said the aircraft belonged to a South African professional hunter, who frequently visits the Selous Game reserve in southern Tanzania for hunting expeditions.

The missing crew are both said to be South African nationals and the aircraft was on its way back to South Africa, but had scheduled to stop at Mfue for refueling. - Sapa-AFP

- SAPA