What happened
During a night departure from Gaborone-Seretse Khama Airport, the crew experienced a critical failure involving all four engines. The engines began backfiring and lost power shortly after the aircraft left the runway. Because the plane could not maintain enough altitude, it struck treetops approximately 3,600 meters beyond the end of the runway. The impact occurred roughly two minutes after takeoff, causing the aircraft to stall and burst into flames.
The accident resulted in 78 fatalities among the occupants. While one crew member and five passengers were successfully rescued from the wreckage, the majority of those on board, many of whom were employees of a South African mining firm traveling home, perished in the crash.
Findings
Investigations into the accident identified that the simultaneous loss of power across all four engines was caused by fuel contamination. During the refueling process at Gaborone Airport, an error occurred involving ground personnel. While the aircraft required Avgas, Jet A1 fuel was mistakenly transferred into an Avgas tank. This resulted in a fuel mixture containing approximately 25% to 30% Jet A1, which compromised the engines during the initial climb phase.