The pilot of the helicopter carrying Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo reportedly battled poor weather and struggled to emerge from dense cloud shortly before the aircraft crashed near Marondera, killing all five people on board.
Details of the final radio communications were provided by Chivayo’s senior security aide, Froster Chisi, who was travelling in another helicopter flying nearby.
According to The NewsHawks, Captain Kelvin Tafirei Soda and fellow pilot Captain Courage Mutavirwa encountered rainy and misty conditions while flying back to Harare from Chivayo’s rural homestead in Gandami, Chikomba, on Wednesday.
The Bell 430 was carrying Chivayo, his wife Lucy Muteke and her personal aide Senelisiwe Magagula.
Chivayo helicopter pilot: ‘I haven’t exited the cloud’Chisi said the weather deteriorated as the two helicopters approached Marondera, where they were expected to stop before continuing to Harare.
The pilot of the second helicopter reportedly suggested changing course through Bromley because of the conditions.
Soda continued communicating with the other aircraft as he struggled with poor visibility.
“I’m in bad weather; I haven’t exited the cloud,” Soda reportedly said over the radio.
His last reported position was over the Surrey area.
When the pilot of the second helicopter said they were about 10 minutes from their destination, Soda reportedly asked: “Which destination?”
“Marondera,” the other pilot responded.
There was no further communication from Chivayo’s helicopter.
Second helicopter waited for the aircraft
Chisi’s helicopter landed in Marondera, with those on board initially expecting the Bell 430 to arrive later.
They reportedly waited for the aircraft before flying to Harare to collect vehicles.
After spending more than an hour trying to contact Chivayo, Muteke and the pilots, they eventually learnt that the helicopter had crashed.
The aircraft went down at about 5pm at Kudenga Farm near Waddilove Mission in Marondera Rural.
All five people on board died.
What investigators will examine after Chivayo crash
Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe director-general George Mashababe said preliminary observations indicated that fuel spilled after the helicopter struck the ground, resulting in a fire that also burnt surrounding grass.
A flight recorder recovered from the wreckage is expected to assist investigators in reconstructing the aircraft’s final moments.
Investigators are expected to examine the recorder, radio communications, weather conditions and wreckage as they establish what happened.
However, authorities have not concluded that bad weather or spatial disorientation caused the crash.
The radio exchanges provide an account of the conditions faced by the pilots, but they do not establish why the helicopter ultimately went down.
The investigation remains ongoing.