Exactly a year ago, a jet-black scenario took place in the air above West Brabant. A small plane crashed on the A58 motorway. Drivers who drove to Sint Willebrord saw the fatal crash happen before their eyes. The device immediately caught fire, the pilot was killed. It is still not clear what exactly happened. The Dutch Safety Board (OVV) is in the final phase of the study, which now lasts a year.
The 67-year-old pilot from Roosendaal left at the beginning of the afternoon on July 31, 2024 with his single-engine plane from Breda Airport. Around half past twelve the unimaginable happened. The so-called Aquila lesson plane rose above the A58, after which it crashed. De Roosendaler was the only one on board. He followed flying lessons.
Eyewitnesses saw how the device collapsed at full speed. “The plane clapped his nose on the asphalt. And then it was one big, black fire ball,” said an eyewitness who drove on the highway.
Dick van Gasteren, the traffic leader of the airport in Bosschenhoofd, was the last contact with the 67-year-old pilot. “The last thing I heard about the radio was that he was going to make a start. In addition, I gave the last wind data.”
Van Gasteren saw the drama happen from the tower shortly later, he told the day after the accident to Omroep Brabant:
The Dutch Safety Board focuses on the tragic accident. They also do this with other disasters, such as a train collision or collapses. These are all things that take a closer look at the OVV to take lessons and make the Netherlands safer.
Until now, no details have been brought out what caused the crash of the plane. Was there technical problems? Or did the pilot make a mistake?
The researchers want to have the bottom stone above and ask eyewitnesses for the first time in history to share photos and videos of the accident. “18 million Dutch people with a mobile phone and dash cameras can give their images a nice addition,” said Chris van Dam. “This way public images can contribute to a safer Netherlands.”
View images here shortly after the plane crash:
The Dutch Safety Board does not make any communications about how many photos and videos were supplied by witnesses and whether the images have actually yielded something. “We strive to publish a research report within a year,” says a spokeswoman for the OVV to Omroep Brabant. “We are now in the final phase, but cannot indicate when the results are known exactly.”
“We don’t make assumptions about that. As soon as we publish, there should be no form of doubt. That is why there are extensive procedures that we go through, which simply takes time,” said Piket coordinator Rob Zandbergen of the OVV earlier.