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19 April 2000 09:45 AM - (SA) Title: One Killed in Germiston Plane Crash

Germiston - A pilot was killed and three passengers were seriously injured when a light aircraft crashed shortly after it took off from the Rand Airport in Germiston on Wednesday morning, East Rand police say.

Police spokesperson Captain Andy Pieke said the plane crashed alongside Radio Road in Alberton around 7am.

Pieke said one of the injured passengers was airlifted to hospital, while two others, a 34-year-old man from Randhart and a Kempton Park man, were taken to hospital by ambulance.

He said the pilot's name would not be released until his next-of-kin had been informed.

Officials at the Rand Airport refused to comment.

A spokesperson for the company that manages the air traffic control at the airport, Arthur Bradshaw, said the plane was on route to Messina in Northern Province when it crashed shortly after taking off.

The cause of the accident was not known.

Bradshaw said the plane was believed to have been a single-engine, four seater Cessna 172.

The manager of aviation safety for the Civil Aviation Authority, George Uriesi, said investigators had been dispatched to the crash site, adding they would make an initial report later on Wednesday morning. - Sapa

http://news.24.com/English/South_Africa/South_Africa/ENG_338069_1164887_SEO.asp

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-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), April 19, 2000