06The Day The Sky Changed

The Day the Sky Changed

26 October 2025

There are days that divide a life into before and after.For us, that day was 26 October 2025.

Angelo’s life was tragically cut short in a helicopter accident — a sudden loss that left behind a silence where his laughter, his stories, and his presence had always been.

He had spent so much of his life among the wild places of this world.

He understood that life could be fragile, but he also believed fiercely in protecting it.

And then, without warning, his own life was taken from us.

Some questions have no answers — yet

In the days and months that followed, grief was accompanied by something else: questions.

What happened that day?What led to the accident?Could anything have been different?

We continue to await the completion of the official aviation investigation and the final report from the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA).

Until that report is released, there are things we simply do not know.

We will not fill those spaces with assumptions.

We will wait for the facts.

Official Investigation

Preliminary report — now available

SACAA Preliminary Accident Report

Aircraft ZU-RAL · Alouette II (SE3130) · 26 October 2025 · Danielskuil District, Northern Cape · Ref CA18/2/3/10611

The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has released the preliminary accident report. This document outlines the factual information gathered during the ongoing investigation. It is not the final report, and details may change as new evidence emerges.

View preliminary report (PDF)

Final report — awaiting publication

The full and final report from the SACAA has not yet been released. This memorial will be updated when the final report becomes publicly available.

Memorial Service

A service to remember him

For those who could not be there, and for those who were — the memorial service held in Angelo’s honour, recorded in full.

Memorial Booklet

The booklet from Angelo’s memorial service — his story, photographs and tributes, gathered in one keepsake to read and share.

Open the memorial booklet

Watch on YouTube

But the accident is not his story

The way Angelo died is one part of his story.

It is not the story of who he was.

His story was in the animals he carried to safety.In the wildlife he treated.In the lives he fought for when others might have walked away.In the countless hours spent in the field.In the people who knew his kindness.In the places where his hands made a difference.And in the extraordinary love he had for the natural world.

That is the Angelo we choose to remember.

Angelo on a quad bike in tall grass with a herd of buffalo behind him — Out in the veld, where he was most himself.

When the sky changed

The sky that had carried him into so many adventures became forever connected with the moment we lost him.

But we don’t want to remember the sky only for the day it took him from us.

We want to remember the skies beneath which he worked.

The African sunsets.The endless bush.The mornings in the field.The places where animals roamed free.The landscapes that he loved.

Because those were the skies Angelo knew.And those are the skies we will remember him beneath.

Photographs

The place where we remember him

The skies he flew beneath, the hillside, and the small memorial left in the veld — kept together here, in one place, out of respect.

A helicopter standing on a bush airstrip beneath a wide African sky at sunset — The skies beneath which he worked.

A memorial plaque for Angelo Robbertse set on stone in the veld, with a king protea beside it — The memorial in the veld — a plaque, a protea, and the words of those who loved him.

A small carved monkey figure resting on red rock beside Angelo's memorial plaque — A small guardian on the red rock, keeping watch beside his name.

The carved monkey and memorial plaque set into a wide ledge of red sandstone — Set into the stone of the place itself.

A metal monkey silhouette with Angelo's name plate hanging from a bare branch against a blue sky — Hanging in the sunlight, swinging free — exactly as he would have wanted.

The carved monkey figure seen from behind, looking out over open grassland and hills — Looking out over the veld he loved, for as long as the stone stands.

Golden grassland and low hills at dusk with the moon rising in a clear sky — Dusk over the hills, the moon already up — the quiet of Danielskuil.

A quiet grass slope with scattered bushes under a soft early morning sky — The hillside, still and silent, holding what it holds.

We wait

Until the final report comes, we wait.

Not because waiting is easy.

But because the truth matters.

We owe that to Angelo.We owe it to everyone who loved him.And we owe it to the importance of understanding what happened.

When the official findings become available, they will be added here.

Official investigation

Awaiting final report

And still, his story continues

Because although 26 October 2025 changed everything, it did not erase everything.

It did not erase the lives Angelo touched.It did not erase the animals he helped.It did not erase the memories.It did not erase the love.And it did not erase the legacy he left behind.

The day the sky changed was the day we lost Angelo.

But every day since has been a reminder of how much of him remains.

In the stories we tell.In the photographs we keep.In the animals we continue to care for.And in every person who carries a little piece of his kindness forward.

He was here.

He mattered.

And his story continues.

The next chapter

Continue His Legacy