A pilot has been killed after a light aircraft crashed next to an airfield in Mpumalanga.
The incident happened on Saturday, and a case of culpable homicide is being investigated by the Civil Aviation Authority of South Africa in conjunction with the South African Police Service (SAPS).
“Stakeholders in the emergency services were summoned to the crash site in Ermelo on Saturday morning, but unfortunately the man who was a pilot of the plane was certified dead,” according to Mpumalanga SAPS spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli.
Preliminary SAPS investigations have indicated that the pilot was travelling alone during the time of the crash.
“More details with regard to the crash will be shared with the public in due course. However, it appears as if the plane was coming from Bethlehem in the Free State province,” said Mdhluli.
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela said the plane crash will be thoroughly investigated by both the Civil Aviation Authority of South Africa as well as the SAPS.
In November, IOL reported that two people were killed when a light aircraft crashed in Centurion, Gauteng.
“The Accident and Incident Investigations Division (AIID) was informed of an accident involving a Bat Hawk aircraft that occurred in Grasslands in Centurion,” Civil Aviation Authority’s spokesperson Sisa Majola said at the time.
“A pilot and passenger were on board the aircraft when the accident occurred. Both of them were fatally injured during the accident sequence and the aircraft was substantially damaged.”
Majola said a team was dispatched to the accident site to collect evidence.
IOL