Instructor, student escape aircraft crash with no injuries
Plane crash at Florentia school prompts emergency response.
Image: Gauteng Provincial Joint Operations Centre
AN aircraft instructor and his student had a narrow escape when they crashed while conducting a final evaluation flight test for a private pilot license in Alberton, Gauteng.
The aircraft experienced engine failure, according to the City of Ekurhuleni. They were forced to make an emergency landing at the Hoërskool Alberton rugby field.
City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Tikkie MacDonald said they crashed into the school's tuckshop.
Gauteng Provincial Joint Operations Centre confirms plane crash at school.
Image: Gauteng Provincial Joint Operations Centre
"Firefighters from the City of Ekurhuleni were immediately dispatched to the scene. The instructor and student were conducting a final evaluation flight test for a private pilot license when they experienced engine failure, necessitating an emergency landing on the school's rugby field.
"Fortunately, both the instructor and student escaped uninjured. The incident has been reported to the Civil Aviation Authorities and is currently under investigation."
The incident came days after the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) and the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC) launched an investigation after a light aircraft, which had departed from King Mswati III International Airport (Eswatini) for Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport was located crashed in remote terrain near Barberton, Mpumalanga.
The pilot, the sole occupant, was found dead at the scene on October 18.
Less than a week before that incident, search and rescue teams were dispatched to the Midlands region of Nottingham Road and nearby areas in the neighbouring KZN after two light aircraft failed to reach their destination.
One aircraft was located near Howick on discovery; the pilot and sole occupant was found dead. The second craft was found the following morning; again, the pilot was confirmed deceased.
One of the pilots was an Indian national and that efforts were underway to repatriate his remains to India.
On August 14, a light aerobatic aircraft (an Extra 300, registration ZS-AEC) piloted by Andrew Blackwood-Murray, crashed into the ocean off Durban North Beach (near Suncoast Casino) during its final display at an airshow tied to the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Global Summit 2025.
The body believed to be that of the pilot was found on a Durban beach on September 12.
Cape Times