High tide hampering search after Durban plane crash
A host of emergency response teams will descend on Durban's North Beach, where the search for a missing pilot is due to resume on Friday morning.
The 61-year-old Johannesburg man, was performing an aerial display outside Suncoast at an aviation summit on Thursday, when he apparently allegedly lost control of the light aircraft.
Video footage shows the plane spiralling down at high speed before plunging into the sea off Battery Beach.
After an hours-long search, the emergency operation was put on hold due to safety concerns after sunset. Rescue teams and scuba divers recovered pieces of the ZS-AEC Extra 300 aircraft wreckage, which broke apart on impact.
READ: Search for plane crash pilot to resume in Durban on Friday
High tide also hampered efforts to find the pilot forcing crews to extend their search beyond the crash site.
The NSRI says the 61-year-old man is from Johannesburg.
KZN SAPS spokesperson, Robert Netshiunda says a missing person inquiry has been opened.
"Because this is sea, that the water cannot wash out anything. So we should have members who are searching above the surface.
“We have divers who are underwater, and we've got a search teams who are along the beach to cover all the angles, if the person gets be wiped out, we are going to identify him. if it's underwater we got divers who are underwater and our boats were floating on the sea."
READ: Light aircraft crashes into ocean in Durban
The incident happened in full view of crowds, including high school learners, during an event hosted by the South African Civil Aviation Authority.
The airshow was part of a display for the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Summit to attract more young people to the industry.
Themba Thabethe, head of the Accident and Incident Investigations Division at the SACAA says more details will be shared once the pilot's family arrives.
“Footage is still being reviewed to try to ascertain what has happened. Other details at this stage have to be closely withheld because it's sensitive with dealing in a media age where for information just explodes and leaks, and it becomes insensitive that while their families making their way to the scene, they're already confronted with certain information."
Find us on social media
Follow the ECR Newswatch WhatsApp channel here
We are also on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter)
MORE ON ECR:
