What happened
A Cessenu S550 Citation S/II operated by the South African Civil Aviation Authority was performing a positioning flight from Port Elizabeth Airport to George Airport when it crashed into the Outeniqua mountains. Prior to the accident, the crew had requested to perform a calibration flight for the George VOR beacon, but were denied due to poor weather conditions. The crew instead opted to land, refuel, and then proceed with the calibration of the Instrument Landing System on runway 11.
After receiving takeoff clearance, the crew requested a specific flight path involving an early right turn to intercept a radial arc. Following takeoff from runway 11 at 10:42, the aircraft climbed to 3,000 feet and began navigating a 17 nautical mile DME arc using the George VOR. At 10:46, air traffic control notified the crew that they were leaving controlled airspace and instructed them to switch to a special rules frequency. The crew acknowledged this instruction, but no further radio contact was established.
Radar monitoring showed the aircraft climbing to 3,900 feet at 10:50. Shortly after leveling off at this altitude, the aircraft experienced a rapid descent of 1,500 feet in roughly nine seconds. Data indicates the aircraft's nose pitched up just three seconds before it struck a ridge at an elevation of 2,192 feet. The impact destroyed the aircraft, and there were three fatalities.