A pilot has died after his aircraft spiralled uncontrolled and crashed at an air present in South Africa.
The crash occurred on the West Coast Air Present in Saldanha, a city about 70 miles (110 km) north of Cape City, on Saturday.
Video footage reveals the aircraft spinning mid-air earlier than plummeting to the bottom.
In a press release shared on social media, organisers of the present named the pilot as James O’Connell.
“It’s with profound disappointment that the organisers of the West Coast Airshow verify a deadly accident involving James O’Connell, a extremely expert and revered take a look at pilot from South Africa,” the assertion mentioned.
“Mr O’Connell was performing a routine show supposed to exhibit the capabilities of the Impala Mark 1 – a beloved warbird with deep historic significance for a lot of South Africans. It was particularly an enormous second as a result of the Impala has not been seen acting at air reveals for a few years.
“The manoeuvres had been being executed as a part of the official air present programme, witnessed by 1000’s of spectators.
“Eyewitness accounts report that the plane seemed to be underneath management throughout a lot of the show. Nonetheless, throughout one of many closing manoeuvres, the plane skilled a sudden lack of altitude and entered a steep dive earlier than making contact with the bottom.”
Pic: West Coast Air Present
Organisers mentioned there was no signal the pilot made an try and eject.
“Our ideas and deepest sympathies are with James’s household, family members, and everybody affected by this very tragic occasion,” they added.
No different accidents had been reported.
Elowayne Gouws, the director of West Coast Medical Rescue, advised nationwide information web site Information 24 that medics arrived on the scene inside two minutes “and located the wreckage engulfed in flames”.
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The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) and the South African Air Pressure’s accident unit are investigating the incident.
“There may be one confirmed fatality, a pilot on board an Impala plane,” mentioned SACCA head of communication Sisa Majola, nationwide information web site Occasions Dwell reported.
The authority’s accident and incident investigations division is working with occasion security officers to “collate preliminary info”, he added.
Additional updates might be shared when extra info is obtainable, organisers of the present mentioned.
