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Turner , Robert Michael (R M)

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No photograph available — remembrance poppy
Identity
Person No.
33349
Old ROH no.
1438
Service No.
72422603PS
Last Name
Turner 30
First Name
Robert Michael
Initials
R M
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1957 (±1 yr) 432
Age at Death
34
Death Record
Date of Death
11 April 1991 207
Cause code
AA 1,734
Aircraft accident
Cause of Death
Killed in aircraft accident 1,514
Killed in aircraft accident, near Pietersburg, in Atlas MB326KM Impala Mk II #1041, suffered engine failure while on final approach to land at AFB Pietersburg. He ejected from the aircraft too late and was struck by trees, killing him instantly
Military Service
Branch
Air Force
Rank
Major
Regiment
Unknown
Corps
South African Air Force 3,524
Unit
85 Combat Flying School 28
Defence Force
SADF 3,832
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
South Africa 23,874
Locality
Gauteng 9,374
Cemetery
SADF WALL OF REMEMBRANCE, VOORTREKKER MONUMENT, PRETORIA 1,926
Grave Reference
Alternative Commemoration until grave found 1,612
Memorial
Memorial
SADF Wall of Remembrance
Location
On a koppie at the Voortrekker Monument, overlooking Pretoria
Address
Voortrekker Monument, Eeufees Road, Groenkloof, Pretoria, 0181, South Africa
Coordinates
-25.77639, 28.17583 · OpenStreetMap
Panel
Not listed against a numbered panel
On the panel
Position on the panel will be added with photographs
Unit History
Part of
Training and development
Notes

ref. 85 years of SAAF

Research notes

Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 11 Apr 2024: 72422603PS Major Robert Michael Turner, 85 Combat Flying School, killed after Atlas MB326KM Impala Mk II serial 1041 suffered engine failure on final approach to AFB Pietersburg; ejected too late and directly into trees, age 34. ROH age was 25 — corrected to 34 (1972-prefix SN; age 25 in 1991 would not match). Cause already had Impala 1041 / Pietersburg / trees. Unit2 was "G" Coy — set to Air Force.
25 Sep 2026, Unit2 service-branch sweep: the stored Secondary Unit "Air Force" was CLEARED as a duplicate. It was not a sub-unit, it was a service-branch word repeating what the Branch column already says. Secondary Unit is for sub-units -- a company, a squadron, a commando -- and this record's branch of service is unchanged at "Air Force".

Citations
Unknown
External References
  • Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post
    Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 11 Apr 2024: 72422603PS Major Robert Michael Turner, 85 Combat Flying School, killed after Atlas MB326KM Impala Mk II serial 1041 suffered engine failure on final approach to AFB Pietersburg; ejected too late and directly into trees, age 34. ROH age was 25 — corrected to 34 (1972-prefix SN; age 25 in 1991 would not match). Cause already had Impala 1041 / Pietersburg / trees. Unit2 was "G" Coy — set to Air Force.
  • South African War Graves Project open source ↗
  • The War in Angola open source ↗
    War In Angola Roll of Honour (warinangola.com, tabid=1175), page 12 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 1
by Johan Meyer on 08 November 2008 · via source
Maj R M Turner was the pilot of an Impala MkII Ser No 1041 that crashed near AFB Pietersburg on 10-Apr-1991 due to engine trouble whilst on finals for landing.
Dedications

No dedications have been added yet.