CONSULATE OF IRELAND
MARSOVIN,
The Winery,
Marsa PLA 01,
Malta
Fax Cover Sheet
| DATE: | December 4, 1995 | TIME: | 11:25 AM |
| TO: | [Naihm] [Foreign Affairs] |
PHONE: FAX: |
[00353-1-2851675] [00353-1-8680518] |
| FROM: | [Sonla Cassar] [Irish Consulate] |
PHONE: FAX: |
[00386-824918] [00356-828548] |
Number of pages Including cover sheet: [Type number of pages here]
Message
THREE MALTESE AMONG SIX MISSING AFTER PLANES DISAPPEARANCE.
Search resumes today.
Aircraft from Malta, Tunisia and the United States Navy are this morning due to resume a search for a single-engined Piper Lance aircra which went missing with six people on board while on its way to Malta yesterday.
The aircraft flying from Djerba in Tunisia, had been expected at Luqa at 6:30am, but nothing was heard of it after a radio message to Tunisia air traffic control at 5:11am, some 25 minutes after take-off the Department of Information said.
The aircraft, which at the time, was some 200 miles south west of Malta, did not report anything wrong, but there was a thunderstorm in the area at the time and the aircraft faced a strong north-easterly headwind.
The alarm was raised by the Malta control tower when the aircraft did not show up on radar screens and it did not make air traffic control at the expected time.
An Italian military mission search and rescue helicopter piloted by a joint Italian Maltese crew quickly sent to the scene , and it was Joined in mid-morning by two aircraft of Excelair Services, the company which was Operating the missing aircratt on lease,
As news spread other Maltase private pilots also joined in the search along with aircraft of the Tunisian air force and the United States Navy. Weather conditions were about as bad as when the aircraft is thought to have gone missing,
At one time a pilot reported seeing what looked like a life Jacket but the sighting could not be confirmed
The aircraft owned by Sun Aviation and leased to Excelair was piloted by Carmel Bartolo, of Zebbug a director of Sun Aviation.
On board were five Passengers two of whom were Maltese: Philip Farrugia and Matthew Aquilina of Sliema. The others were Briton Michael Williams, Desmond Boomer an Irishman and Gorny Yadeuse a Polish.
The Department of Information said the Piper left Malta at 6.45pm on Saturday with four passengers on board. The flight was uneventful with radar and radio contact maintained throughout the flight.
The Malta Air Control Centre early yesterday received the aircraft’s flight plan for its fight back to Malta. It was to depart from Djerba at 4.40am, reaching Malta at 6.30am. The aircraft actually took off at 4.46am. At about 5.30am Tunis flight control asked Malta flight control whether the aircraft was in contact with Malta. Malta replied that there had been no contact at all
A distress message was issued by Maita at 7.00am addressed to Tunis, Monastir, Djerba, Tripoi and Lampedusa, launching the search and rescue operation.
The Italian Military Mission helicopter took off from Malta a short time afterwards followed at around 10.30am_ by two aircraft belonging to Excelair.
The Tunisian air force sent five search and rescue aircraft and the US Navy reported deployed PC 3 Orian surveillance aircraft.
Djerba is located close to the Libyan border and is a gateway for many people travelling to and from Libya which has no air links wilh Lhe rest of the world because of UN imposed sanctions in connection with the 1988 Pan Am aircraft bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Malta Police Headquarters
Tel: 00356 - 224001.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you requrie any further information.
