Page:Report of the Board of Inquiry into the Helderberg air disaster.djvu/35

Rh 1.9 Communications

The aeroplane was equipped with 2 high frequency (HF) and 3 very high frequency (VHF) transmitter-receiver radio sets. Interphone (sometimes referred to as intercom) and passenger address systems were also provided.

The take-off and departure communications with Taipei departure control were normal in all respects.

Some 34 minutes after departure from Taipei, SA 295 called Hong Kong Radar at 14:56:04 and obtained direct clearance from ELATO to ISBAN. Normal position reporting was made over ELATO at 15:03:25; SUNEK at 15:53:52; ADMARK at 16:09:54 and SUKAR at 16:34:47. At 15:55:18 a routine report was made to the Operator's base station at Jan Smuts (ZUR). The crew was asked to report again at 18:00 as the selective calling system (SELCAL) was unserviceable. The communication with ZUR ended at 15:56:55. The ZUR tape recording ran until about 16:34. As the follow-on tape was apparently later mislaid or inadvertently re-used, there is no further communication between SA 295 and ZUR on record. The ZUR operator confirmed that there was no other communication. The ZUR log shows that at 04:48 on November 28th flight MK 057 had asked the ZUR radio offlcer when he last had contact with flight SA 295 and was informed "1600 UTC on