Preliminary information indicate a double engine failure.
Two people have narrowly escaped serious injury after a light aircraft crashed during an emergency landing in George.
It is understood crash involving a Rockwell 500S with registration ZS-IZN on Saturday morning.
Escape
Garden Route District Municipality fire chief Deon Stoffels said the two crew members sustained minor injuries and are receiving treatment in hospital.
“Miraculously, the pilot and passenger escaped with minor injuries.”
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Plane crash
The Accident and Incident Investigations Division (AIID) of the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) spokesperson Sissa Majola confirmed the accident at the George Airport, Western Cape, early on Saturday morning.
“Preliminary information indicate a double engine failure that occurred approximately 15 km from the airport with the aircraft crash landing in a nearby cemetery, around the Thembalethu township.
“The aircraft departed from the Vereeniging Airport en route to the George Airport with two occupants on board – one pilot and a passenger. Both occupants were taken to a nearby hospital,” Majola said.
Majola added that AIID will publish a preliminary report on the SACAA website in 30 days of this accident.
Andrew Blackwood-Murray not found
Meanwhile, there is still no sign of 61-year-old missing pilot, Andrew Blackwood-Murray, a week after his light aircraft plunged into the ocean during an airshow off the Durban coastline in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
The accident occurred just before 2pm on Thursday, when the ZS-AEC Extra 300 aircraft that was performing its final display crashed into the sea.
Video footage circulating on social media showed the light aircraft looping in the sky before plummeting into the ocean and skidding for a distance.
Advanced technology
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) spokesperson Craig Lambinon said private companies and recreational divers continued to join forces with search and rescue teams to search for Blackwood-Murray.
Lambinon said advanced technology and advanced search technology continue to be deployed in the ongoing search.
He said weather and sea conditions have not been a factor and have not hampered ongoing search efforts.
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