(Photo Goran Les)
The investigation into the tragic air crash of a small non-commerical flight near Split Airport, which killed two people and left a third fighting for his life, continues, with a little more detail slowly emerging.
The Lake Buccaneer 4-seater crashed in the early evening two days ago on a pilot training flight, after the engine appeared to stop shortly after take-off. The plane is owned by European Coastal Airlines, and although not part of its commercial fleet, I understand it is used for things such as pilot training.
The airline released their second press statement yesterday, which you can read below, in which once again the company’s sorrow and prayers for their dear colleagues and their families was the main theme. The airline is cooperating fully with the investigation, and parts of the plane have been transferred to a hangar at Split Airport. A terrible tragedy and our thoughts are with all at ECA and friends and family of the pilots killed and seriously injured.
There has of course been lots of media interest into the story, and one national portal has reported that the investigation into what caused the tragedy will be completed within 30 days, and the Agency for Accident Investigation will publish its findings on www.ain.hr.
The news portal also reported that the two dead pilots were of Croatian and Indian nationality, and the seriously injured third person was Croatian. A senior manager of the airline posted on social media this morning that he was about to take the saddest flight of his life – to India, where he will repatriate the body of his fallen colleague to the grief-stricken family.
