Zim plane 'not South African'

2004-03-09 17:24

Pretoria - The cargo plane impounded at Harare's airport on Sunday was not registered in South Africa, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed on Tuesday.

"Our investigation shows that this aircraft is not registered or even provisionally registered in South Africa. The "N" indicates that this is a US-registered aircraft," said CAA spokesperson Moses Seate.

The Boeing 727-100 left South Africa under mysterious circumstances on Sunday. It landed in Harare and is presently being detained because the Zimbabwean government alleged it was carrying mercenaries and military equipment.

The CAA also confirmed on Tuesday that the plane had in fact landed at Polokwane International Airport. It was previously alleged that it had left South African airspace illegally by flying directly from Pretoria's Wonderboom airport to Harare.

The CAA was awaiting more information before deciding on a further course of action.

The aircraft, which once belonged to the US Air Force, bears the registration number N4610, which the US Federal Aviation Authority says is allocated to a Kansas-based company called Dodson Aviation Inc.

The company alleges it sold the plane to a company called Logo Ltd, or Logo Logistics, but neither company is known to local aviation enthusiasts.

- SAPA