22 Dec 2013

Mozambique plane crash 'intentional'

10:06 pm on 22 December 2013

Aviation experts in Mozambique say the captain of a Mozambican Airlines plane that crashed in Namibia last month intentionally caused the crash.

Mozambican Airlines flight TM470 left the capital Maputo bound for Angola on 29 November, but crashed, killing all 33 people all board.

The Civil Aviation Institute said the pilot made a "deliberate series of manoeuvres" causing the crash.

The BBC reports the pilot's motives are unknown, and the investigation is continuing.

Civil Aviation Institute head Joao Abreu told a news conference that the pilot, Hermino dos Santos Fernandes, had a "clear intention" to crash.

Dos Santos Fernandes locked himself in the cockpit, and did not allow his co-pilot back inside until moments before the plane hit the ground, Mr Abreu said.