What happened
A flight departing from Vilanculos experienced significant delays prior to takeoff due to ongoing mechanical complications. Although a maintenance engineer was scheduled to arrive within a 48-hour window to address these issues, the individual did not arrive as planned. Consequently, the pilot elected to proceed with the mission despite the fact that the underlying technical problems remained unaddressed.
During the cruise phase of the flight, while traveling alongside the coastline, the aircraft encountered further technical malfunctions. In an effort to manage the situation, the pilot attempted to perform an emergency landing on a nearby beach. However, the maneuver was unsuccessful, resulting in a crash. There were five fatalities among the occupants of the aircraft.
Findings
The primary factor leading to the accident was the decision to operate the aircraft with known unresolved technical problems following the failure of maintenance personnel to arrive as scheduled.