15.1 C
Cape Town
Wednesday, May 13, 2026

WATCH: Search resumes for pilot after aircraft crashes into ocean near Durban

Published on


Add Smile FM on Google

 

 

The search has resumed for the missing 61-year-old pilot of the Light Aircraft Crash, which occurred yesterday near Suncoast Beach in Durban. Paramedics are currently on standby at the scene, but the incident is now being treated as a recovery operation.

 

Multiple NSRI rescue craft, police and Metro Police divers, a police helicopter, lifeguards, and emergency services combed the area yesterday afternoon, but there has been no sign of the missing pilot.

 

Since the early hours of Friday morning, from first light, Metro Police, eThekwini Municipal lifeguards and the SA Police Services have continued to recover wreckage washed ashore overnight.

 

eThekwini Municipal lifeguards deployed lifeguards and resources to search out to sea in an ongoing search and to recover wreckage beyond the back breakers.

 

The NSRI rescue craft Spirit of Surfski 6 will be deployed to assist in the ongoing search and to provide a platform for Police divers and Metro Police divers in ongoing scuba dive search efforts.

 

The search grid coordinates are being evaluated in cooperation with NSRI EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) using advanced search technology, taking into account sea drift patterns.

 

 

The aerobatic Extra 300 was performing its final display at an airshow linked to the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Summit when it went down around 1:45pm.

 

Video shows the plane trailing smoke before spiralling into the sea.

 

 

 

 

*This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available

Liesl Smit
Liesl Smit
Liesl is the Smile 90.4FM News Manager. She has been at Smile since 2016, with nearly 20 years experience in the radio industry, including reading news, field reporting and producing. In 2008 she won the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Award, Western Cape region. liesl@smile904.fm

Latest articles

UPDATE: Death Toll in Western Cape Amid Severe Weather Rises to Nine

 The confirmed death toll in the Western Cape linked to severe weather over the past week has risen to nine, following the tragic deaths...

Rising Unemployment Rate Sparks Calls for Urgent Economic Reform

 South Africa's official unemployment rate has increased yet again, to 32.7% in the first quarter of 2026, which means more than 8 million people...

DEVELOPING: Number of those affected by Cape Town storm rises to 83,000

 The City of Cape Town's Disaster Risk Management department says, following further assessments in communities on Tuesday, they have established that more than 21,500...
error: Content is protected !!