via Aussie couple Scott and Robyn Beaumont walk from plane crash in Zimbabwe | dailytelegraph.com.au 13 August 2014
AN Australian Army officer and his wife have survived a plane crash on holiday in Zimbabwe, walking away with just bumps and bruises.
Scott Beaumont, 51, and his wife Robyn Beaumont, 49, suffered minor injuries when a four-seater Cessna aircraft experienced engine problems shortly after departing Victoria Falls International Airport about 11am on Sunday.
The pilot, Karl Sittig, from Harare in Zimbabwe, had turned the plane around before it crashed into a paddock near the Lupinyu Business Centre.
The couple, from Collaroy, were travelling to Hwange National Park en route to Mana Pools. Mr Beaumont and his wife experienced minor injuries but were still admitted to Victoria Falls Hospital.
He experienced an elbow pain and Mrs Beaumont an injury to her right shoulder as well as some chest pains.
Mr Sittig suffered a laceration to his forehead as well as experiencing shock and was taken to Chinotimba Medical Centre.
Mr and Mrs Beaumont’s neighbours said they were on holiday in Africa.
Mr Beaumont’s brother, Peter, said he was left frustrated with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) after contacting them about his two family members. DFAT told him they could not provide an update on his brother and sister-in-law over the phone because they required further identification beyond a telephone call to authorise information requests.
“Not knowing is the hardest part”, Peter Beaumont, from Sydney, said.
A spokeswoman from DFAT said the Australian couple had since left the Zimbabwean hospital.
“The Australian Embassy in Harare has contacted two Australians involved in an aircraft accident in Zimbabwe,” she said.
“They did not require consular assistance.”
Mr Beaumont is an Australian Army officer and his wife runs an online retailer selling apparel and accessories for lawn bowlers.
The couple are due back in Sydney on August 25.
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