Update: Newcastle plane crash under investigation

It has been confirmed that the two men killed in last nights plane crash were not local.

Witness reports and registrations confirm the plane was registered to a training company in Johannesburg.

The pilots had been training in the area, and had even stopped in Newcastle for fuel before leaving once again to Johannesburg.

It has not been confirmed who had been flying the plane at the time of the crash, but sources within the aviation community believe that nothing could have been done to save the pilots lives.

“Pilots stray away from speculation of causes of incidents like this, until the true cause can be confirmed,” said a source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The source explained that in cases like this, it could have been one of two reasons – either the weather conditions, prevalent in the mountainous areas, surrounding the crash caused the pilot to make an error which led to the engine stalling, or mechanical failures caused the pilot to lose control.

Due to the stringent rules surrounding aviation training schools, coupled with the vast amount of research put into place regarding the safety of flights, the source highly doubted the possibility of mechanical failure.

“We have experienced very hot weather over the last few days. This causes thermals (hot pockets of rising air), which compounds turbulence in flights. This factor, together with the Katabatic and Anabatic winds common in the area, may have played a pivotal role in this incident,” they hypothesised.

It is believed the pilots had been engaged in low altitude night flying, and these factors caused the engine to stall, which in turn led to the crash.

The Civil Aviation Authority are currently investigating the matter, but at this time were unable to comment on the issue.

We will keep readers informed as investigations into the crash develop.