Pilot Jason Richards, who was flying the family's microlight aircraft, and his father, Wesley, 52, were killed after the plane plunged to the ground on a Wartburg sugar cane farm, less than a kilometre from their home, near Pietermaritzburg.
Shocked workers, who witnessed the accident, dragged the father and son from the wreckage.
Richards (snr), who worked for a nearby sugar mill, and the teenager died before paramedics arrived.
The grade 11 pupil, at Pietermaritzburg's St Charles's College, is believed to have passed his private pilot's licence two weeks ago, making him one of the youngest pilots in SA.
Police spokesman Brigadier Henry Budhram, who arrived at the scene shortly after the crash, said the teenager had received his licence in the post yesterday morning.
He said it appeared the aircraft may have hit a cellphone mast, causing it to lose control.
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