2 killed in Cullinan airplane crash

A fatal aircraft accident occurred last night when an airplane crashed into power lines on a farm near Cullinan claiming the lives of the two people onboard and causing widespread power cuts to the town.

According to police spokesperson Warrant Officer Johan Van Dyk, the police responded swiftly to the scene, where they discovered the aircraft engulfed in flames.

He said the aircraft was conducting a training exercise with a flight instructor and a learner pilot on board.

“It had taken off from Boschkop area but encountered technical difficulties during flight, and in an attempt to make an emergency landing, the aircraft crashed,” said Van Dyk.

Both individuals on board were declared deceased at the scene. Their identities have not yet been made public.

An inquest docket has been opened, with investigations set to involve collaboration with the Civil Aviation Authority to determine the cause of the accident.

Eskom Gauteng spokesperson Amanda Qithi said the power utility team attended to the outage affecting customers in Cullinan, Roodeplaat, and Valtaki.

“Supply was restored at 23:22 through back feeding, which means we are providing electricity to the areas from alternative sources that were not affected by the crash,” said Qithi.