Five passengers were killed after a South African Police Service (SAPS) fixed-wing aircraft crashed shortly after take-off at the Rand Airport in Germiston, on Tuesday afternoon. The pilot has been critically injured and taken to hospital.
The crash took place around 2pm, according to Netcare911. Six people including the pilot were on board when a SAPS PC-6 Turbo Porter aircraft crashed shortly after taking off the runway at the airport.
“On board were five passengers and a pilot. All five passengers have sadly lost their lives. The pilot is critically injured and has been taken to a nearby hospital for further medical care,” said Colonel Athlenda Mathe, the police spokesperson.
Mathe said authorities are on scene to establish the cause of the accident that claimed five lives. “The details of the deceased and injured pilot will be released once their next of kin have been informed,” Mathe added.
Earlier this year, two young pilots were killed when their aircraft crashed on a farm in Kinkelbos. The 33-year-old Sudanese national Oyit Ajack and 25-year-old Malawian National Bhadresh Kadiwar died on impact after their light aircraft crashed on a farm in Kinkelbos in June.
The family and friends will father to celebrate the lives of Oyit and Bhadresh. The memorial service will be held at the Algeo Flying Club in Port Elizabeth at 15:00 on Friday.
According to Colonel Priscilla Naidu, the police spokesperson, the pilots left Dawid Stuurman Airport at 18:15 on Saturday night on route to East London.
“The pilots left Dawid Stuurman Airport at about 18:15 on Saturday night on route to East London; however, they turned the sling 2 aircraft around at Kenton-On-Sea and headed back towards Gqeberha.
“At about 20:07, communication with the aircraft was lost, and at about 22:00, SAPS Search and Rescue team, including the Diving Unit and the Gqeberha K9 Unit, were mobilised to search for the missing aircraft,” Naidu said.
Source: News24, Eyewitness News, IOL, The South African, The Citizen, Times Live, image from IOL: SAPS