South Africa has witnessed a spate of light aircraft crashes in recent months sparking debate over whether private pilots should be subjected to stricter regulations.
KwaZulu-Natal transport and human settlements MEC Siboniso Duma announced on Thursday morning that the pilot of the second aircraft which went missing on Wednesday in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands had been found dead. He said his office had received a report at about 7.20am from the Aeronautical Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre and the SAPS search and rescue unit indicating they had found the second aircraft.
“Unfortunately the second pilot suffered fatal injuries. We express our deepest condolences to the families of the two pilots. We will allow the team to retrieve the bodies of the two pilots this morning,” he said.
The pilot of the first aircraft found in the Howick West area was declared dead on Wednesday evening. The second pilot was found in an area north of Boston in the Midlands.
A search was launched after a mayday call was made to air traffic control on Wednesday. Heavy fog was reported in the area where the aircraft were flying from Johannesburg to Margate on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast.
This comes after a light aircraft crash claimed the lives of three students after departing from Virginia Airport in Durban in June and in April two people were hospitalised after a light aircraft crash near Beachwood, just north of Virginia Airport.
TimesLIVE
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