Evidence: The aircraft was flying overnight in central Africa at a low altitude. As John Mussell, the former Royal Rhodesian officer who coordinated the search for the plane, told the New York Times: “It doesn’t matter how fatigued you are or how experienced you are. If you are in Africa and going into unfamiliar territory, it’s not difficult to make a serious mistake.” There were three major enquiries after the crash, two were inconclusive and a third, by the Rhodesian government, blamed pilot error.