Two die in South Coast plane crash

Published Aug 26, 2015

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Durban - A Durban pilot and his passenger died when a Cessna 172 light aircraft crashed on the edge of a sugar-cane field near Winkelspruit, south of Durban on Tuesday afternoon.

The plane was travelling from the Durban Aviation Centre, a flight school operating from Virginia Airport, but it is not clear what it was doing on the South Coast.

The police said the pair might have been sightseeing and the passenger may have been a tourist.

“The two men were burnt beyond recognition. We suspect the plane had an engine failure and the pilot tried to land it on the N2 but hit the power lines and crashed just off the highway,” KZN police spokesman Major Thulani Zwane said.

There was no interruption to the power lines.

The identity of the victims has not yet been released.

The aircraft lost part of its wing before catching fire and crashing about 20m from the N2.

“The cause of the crash is subject to a Civil Aviation Authority investigation. They will be able to confirm whether the engine really failed,” said Zwane.

By the time The Mercury arrived at the scene the fire was smouldering and police had cordoned off the crash site.

KZN Emergency Medical Services’ Robert Mckenzie said the first response team arrived while the the plane was engulfed in flames but the occupants were already dead.

Chris Botha of Netcare911, who arrived a few minutes after the impact, said: “We took a fire extinguisher and tried to fight the fire, but to no avail. The fire department was on scene within minutes and managed to put the fire out”.

The Durban Aviation Centre declined to comment. According to the company’s website, the flight school has been in existence for more that 30 years and offers a wide range of aviation-related courses, including private and commercial pilot licences.

The Mercury

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