On 14 October 2011, a Cessna 208 Caravan turboprop passenger aircraft operated by Moremi Air on a domestic flight from Xakanaka camp to Maun, Botswana, crashed and caught fire shortly after take-off, killing eight of the twelve people on board. The following investigation concluded that the aircraft suffered a catastrophic engine failure on take-off, compounded by environmental hazards at Xakanaka, which led to the plane hitting trees and crashing to the ground. History of the flight The aircraft had departed from Maun Airport on the morning of 14 October for a series of flight sectors in the Okavango Delta that took it first to Kasane Airport. After refuelling there, at 11:50 eleven passengers boarded the aircraft. The next sector would have taken the Cessna to Pom Pom Camp, but it was decided to stop at Xakanaxa first to drop two passengers. No flight plan was filed for the diversion to Xakanaxa, nor was the airline's base informed. At Xakanaxa, the pilot was informed that he was required to pick up another two passengers bound for Maun. After some hesitation, the pilot agreed to take the passengers, departing from Xakanaxa with eleven passengers, despite company procedures restricting the maximum number of passengers for operations from that airfield to ten. The Grand Caravan took off from Xakanaka airstrip at 13:55. Almost immediately after take-off, the engine lost power and the aircraft collided with trees. It then crashed nose first approximately 600 metres from the airfield, with an intense fire quickly engulfing the wreckage, burning beyond recognition the bodies of six passengers and the pilot. A rescue team was flown in and found the wreckage still ablaze. An eighth occupant was taken to hospital but later died. Identification of the victims was only possible through DNA testing. Aircraft The airplane involved was a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, a single-engine turboprop utility aircraft capable of carrying thirteen passengers plus crew. It was fitted with a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114A turboprop engine. It held Botswanan registration A2-AKD, and had been manufactured in 1996. Passengers and crew The Grand Caravan was crewed by a single pilot and was carrying eleven passengers. The passengers were mainly French and Swiss tourists heading for a safari lodge, but included also two Botswanan officials from the country's Department of Road Transport, who both survived. Some of the Swiss passengers were initially misidentified as Swedish. The pilot was Moremi Air’s