The Minister of Transport, Dullah Omar, has requested the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Bulelani Ngcuka to review the record of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in relation to the 1987 Helderberg accident. The Minister wishes the National Director to advise whether these records, which were not made public, provide grounds to re-open the investigation into the Helderberg accident.
The Minister has also instructed the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to review all new information which, has come to light recently on the accident. The CAA has been requested to advise the Minister on the relevance of this information and whether it requires that the cause of the accident be investigated further.
The Minister encourages all parties concerned to co-operate fully in this matter and urges anyone with information to come forward either to the CAA or the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Minister is expected to announce whether to reopen the investigation only after the review process has been thoroughly conducted and after consultation with Cabinet.
For further information contact:
Mike Mabasa
Media Liaison Officer to the Minister of Transport
Pretoria
30 May 2000
083 680 7048