Respected Maltahöhe farmer Johnny Hanekom dies in aircraft crash
Johnny Hanekom, a prominent farmer and businessman in Namibia, died in a plane crash on his farm in the Maltahöhe district. Local authorities are investigating the incident, which has been met with widespread mourning from the agricultural community.
Why it matters
The death of a respected agricultural leader highlights the risks associated with aerial farm management and the tight-knit nature of the regional farming community.
The farming and business communities in the Hardap and ||Kharas regions have expressed great shock and sadness at the death of Jan-Hendrik ‘Johnny’ Hanekom (69) this weekend.
Hanekom, a farmer in the Maltahöhe district, was also the owner of Johnny’s Auto at Keetmanshoop.
He died on Sunday morning after an aircraft he flew in crashed on his farm Sandrucken.
Chief inspector Elifas Kuwinga says the police have opened an inquest docket as Hanekom was flying with the aircraft to patrol the area around the farm camps.
Kuwinga says the first flight was undertaken successfully and Hanekom landed safely.
It is reported that he then flew for a second time.
“Witnesses only saw that the flaps of the aircraft was folding due to wind pressure, and saw the glider facing the ground. They immediately ran to the scene and found the deceased lying motionless on the ground,” Kuwinga says.
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