Date:	Wednesday 12 September 2007
Time:	14:14 UTC
Type:	de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Gypsy Empire Properties (Pty) Ltd
Registration:	ZS-BXB
MSN:	SAAF 4636
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	R553 Grasmere Road, near Eikenhof, Gauteng -   South Africa
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Solitude Aerodrome, Eikenhof (21LS)
Destination airport:	Rand Airport, Germiston, Gauteng (FAGM)
Investigating agency:	CAA S.A.
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth MSN82709 (Gipsy Major #82591); Taken on charge as R4768 at 20 MU RAF Aston Down, Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire 14.2.40. To 13 EFTS RAF White Waltham, Maidenhead, Berskhire 8.7.40; to RAF Westwood, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire 12.40. To 21 EFTS RAF Booker, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire 2.6.41. To Lundy & Atlantic Coast for repairs 25.4.42; to 5 MU RAF Kemble, Gloucestershire 14.5.42. To 222 MU RAF High Ercall, Shropshire 3.3.43 for packing and crating for overseas shipment. Despatched to South Africa 20.3.43 on the s.s "LS36"; arrived South Africa 3.5.43. Taken on charge by the SAAF as '4636'. To 6 Air School, Potchefstroom. Recorded still on SAAF charge as at census of 31.10.45.

South African civil registered ZS-BXB in 2.48. (Initially registered as SAAF '4635', amended to SAAF '4636', then SAAF '5636'). Re-registered [12.50] to G D Linden & HA Carter t/a Arrow Ads, Randfontein. Badly damaged when struck obstruction on take-off Klerksdorp Airfrield, Transvaal 9.12.50; repaired and returned to service.

Re-registered 1954 to Owenair (Pty), Youngsfield. C of A lapsed 22.10.54. Registration ZS-BXB cancelled 26.10.56. Registration restored 10.57 to J Atkinson, Port Elizabeth. Re-registered 4.59 to I W Hosford, Eerste River. Re-registered (in 1968) to RA Brannon, Orchard, Cape. Registration cancelled 1970. Registration restored 16.3.71. Re-registrered (1975) to G P De Wet, Capetown. On rebuild (1986) by J M Roets, Randburg; reflown (by 1995) after rebuild. Re-registered 16.9.91 to E G Braak, Pretoria; operated by G B Braak & Mary Matthews t/a Gypsy Empire Properties (Pty) Ltd (by 1996).

Destroyed when spun in following engine failure on approach to runway 29 at Tedderfield Airfield, Johannesburg and collided with several vehicles on the R553 road at Ennerdale 12.9.2007. pilot Glen Simpson injured, passenger John van Vuuren killed; also 1 on ground and 23 injured in subsequent collisions in traffic.

Apparently the 1943 Tiger Moth was doing touch and go's at Tedderfield when the engine failed after take off and it spun in and crashed on the R553 Grasmere Road, near Eikenhof. It struck a truck carrying steel door frames, which in turn collided with a Mercedes Sprinter carrying security guards. A Mercedes sedan then crashed into the other vehicles.The passenger in the Tigermoth and the driver of the Mercedes Sprinter died in the accdent and at least 34 other people were injured.

It is alleged that a minibus taxi then stopped at the accident scene were the passengers then alighted and began to assault the pilot who was still strapped in his seat. The pilot suffered a broken leg and multiple lacerations to the head. He has since recovered. The owner of the Tiger Moth was not involved in the incident.

According to the following transcript from the South African CAA report into the incident:

"The pilot and the passenger took off from Rand Aerodrome to Solitude Aerodrome via Panorama Aerodrome at 12:27Z for a scenic flight. On arrival at Solitude, the pilot joined on a right-hand base for Runway 29. He then executed a touch-and-go, which was followed by a full circuit for another touch-and-go.

During the following climb phase, the pilot reported that everything was normal as per the checklist. During the climb phase onto a right-hand heading for Rand Aerodrome, on the downwind from Runway 29, the pilot reported a sudden loud bang from the front of the aircraft, followed by a vibration. The pilot further reported that aircraft yawed and rolled violently to the right, entering into a spin.

The pilot attempted to recover from the spin to no avail. The pilot reported that he switched off the magnetos prior to the impact. The aircraft impacted the ground after two full 360° turns in a nose-down attitude.

Three vehicles – a sedan, an LDV and a truck – were damaged during the accident on the road. The accident happened in daylight conditions. The aircraft was destroyed on impact with vehicles and the ground

=Probable Cause=
The aircraft entered into a spin during climb phase at a low altitude and low speed, and impacted with the ground in a nose-down attitude".

Note that the South African CAA report gives the crash location as "Outside Solitude Aerodrome next to Grasmere Tollgate, north of Vereeniging town. The accident occurred just outside the aerodrome boundary parallel to the runway and the tarred road on the right-hand downwind".

Remains to Lance Poynter, Scottburgh, Kwazulu as rebuild project [2017].

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft R1000-R9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1980)
2. http://www.dehavilland.co.za/DH82A_Tiger_Moth_construction_numbers_and_histories.htm
3. South African CAA Ref.CA18/2/3/8365: http://www.caa.co.za/Accidents%20and%20Incidents%20Reports/8365.pdf
4. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p827.html
6. https://www.pprune.org/african-aviation/291849-tigermoth-crash.html
7. Tiger Moth ZS-BXB at Lanseria (HLA / FALA), South Africa 10.1980: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1681058
8. http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/showphoto.php?photo=31457&title=de-haviland-dh-82a-tiger-moth-zs-bxb-rand-airport-fagm&cat=576
9. http://avcom.co.za/airport2/aircraftview.php?showdetail=&Registration=ZS-BXB
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R553_(South_Africa)
11. https://vymaps.com/ZA/Grasmere-Road-419471/
12. https://www.findlatitudeandlongitude.com/l/Solitude+Airfield%2C+Eikenhof%2C+South+Africa/796647/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
09-May-2008 09:00	Topaz	Added
12-May-2008 15:43	Topaz	Updated
03-Feb-2022 21:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category]