Search for missing pilot to resume on Friday after aircraft crash off Durban beach
Parts of the light aircraft were recovered on Thursday afternoon.
Image: DOCTOR NGCOBO / Independent Newspapers
The search for a missing pilot will resume on Friday morning after a light aircraft crashed into the ocean near Battery Beach on Thursday afternoon.
This is according to an update provided by ALS Paramedics.
The light aircraft had been participating in an airshow linked to the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Summit, which was being hosted at the Durban International Convention Centre this week.
The summit is the third annual global meeting organised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA).
The Accident and Incident Investigations Division (AIID) said the crash occurred near Suncoast Casino at approximately 13:45pm.
“The accident occurred at approximately 13:45 when the ZS-AEC Extra 300 aircraft that was performing its final display crashed into the sea,” the AIID said in a media statement. “The Emergency Medical Services and law enforcement immediately attended to the scene.”
ALS Paramedics, which was among the first on scene, reported that emergency personnel, including SAPS, Symmetry Police Search and Rescue Units, the T25 department, and the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), were deployed.
Pictures from the scene showed that wreckage from the plane had been recovered.
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, said he went to the crash scene immediately after receiving the report. “I was received by the Director of SA Civil Aviation Authority, Ms Poppy Khoza and her team,” Duma said.
“Ms Khoza informed me that the authority’s Accident and Incident Investigations Division (AIID) has taken over and will be conducting an extensive investigation to establish the causes of the accident.
“Critically, as the Department of Transport in KwaZulu-Natal, our hearts are with the family of the pilot,” he said.
He also praised the swift response from emergency services.
“This afternoon I witnessed the hard work of the National Sea Rescue Institute, the SAPS Search and Rescue Unit and medical emergency personnel. We will allow the rescue teams and the AIID to handle this matter moving forward.”
The eThekwini Municipality said Battery Beach had been temporarily closed until further notice following the incident.