Page:Report of the Board of Inquiry into the Helderberg air disaster.djvu/10

 Rh, and Solicitors Barlow, Lyde & Gilbert, London, for South African Airways; and Mr D M Antrobus, instructed by Mr P Naude, of Deneys Reitz, Johannesburg, and by Mr P Kemp, of Kemp Evenhuis, Johannesburg, for the widows of two of the passengers.

Recognition must also be given to the contribution by of way of technical expertise made by Mr Toru Tatebe, of All Nippon Airways, and Dr Bang-Lee Ho, of the Aviation Medical Centre, Civil Aeronautics Administration, Republic of China.

The Board conducted its proceedings in public at Johannesburg on 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th August 1989. This was after notice had been given and advertisements placed of the date and place of the hearings and of the right of all interested parties to appear before the Board in person or via authorized representatives, to cross-examine witnesses, to call their own evidence and to make submissions to the Board. The United States National Transportation Safety Board (the NTSB), as representing the State of Manufacture, was specially invited to send representatives to the hearings, but notified the Board that it was unable to do so because of its numerous other commitments and shortage of available personnel. It pointed out, however, that there would be representatives of the FAA present, to whom the Board could turn for advice and information.

In addition to the public hearings, the Board, during March 1988, conducted inspections of a Boeing 747-244B Combi aircraft at Jan Smuts Airport, and viewed demonstrations of fire fighting