A flying trip ended in disaster for a KwaZulu-Natal pilot when the small aircraft he and his family were in crashed at the East London airport yesterday morning.
According to social media the injured, who were airlifted to Life St Dominic’s Hospital, are Willen Nieuwenhuis, his wife Sanja and their three children from Margate in KZN.
The children’s names are not known and the parents’ names have not been confirmed officially.
The private aircraft, which authorities have not been able to identify, was apparently being flown by Nieuwenhuis, an experienced pilot with a commercial pilot’s licence who owns an air charter company.
A family friend yesterday said he did not know where the family was headed, but believed there may have been difficulty landing the aircraft due to strong winds.
“We were informed that the children had minor injuries but the parents had multiple fractures,” said the family friend, who would not give any further comment.
Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) spokesman Collin Naidoo said the small aircraft had crash-landed on the main runway at 10.33am.
He confirmed there were two adults and three children on board but said it was unclear where the aircraft was coming from. “We had to close the main runway for safety reasons and a secondary runway was opened.
“The cause of the crash is still unknown and will be investigated by the civil aviation authority,” said Naidoo.
Provincial health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said emergency services were rushed to the airport. The two adults, critically injured, were airlifted by the emergency rescue helicopter and taken to hospital.
The three children, although their injuries were minor, were also flown there.
A spokesman from Dynamics Emergency Services in East London, Rudy Robson, said they received a call just after 11am informing them of the accident.
“The aircraft was completely wrecked.
“It had crashed on the grass patch next to the main runway. We are not sure what caused the crash but from what we heard it sounded like they had trouble with landing due to strong winds,” said Robson.
A senior weather forecaster at the SA Weather Services, Quinton Jacobs, said at around 9.30am the wind was blowing between 35 to 55km/h and a few minutes later there were reports that the wind had picked up excessively.
“We received reports that the wind picked up suddenly by 20km/h.
“This sudden change in the wind could have probably led to misjudgment by the pilot. However, we will have to wait for the investigation to be concluded,” Jacobs added.
When the Dispatch arrived at the airport, emergency vehicles were at the scene and an emergency air rescue helicopter was seen taking off.
The main gate near the runway was closed and Acsa security guards were preventing unauthorised entry by verifying identifications.
Motorists had stopped on the side of the road and some were even climbing on top of their cars to get a better view of what was happening.
Only the red and white tail of the aircraft could be spotted over the wall along Settlers Way, lying about 300m away.
Naidoo said it took the Acsa team an hour to clear the runway.
He said although he could not remember the last time such an incident occurred at the airport, this was a big one.
“We do have such incidents occurring but not frequently, and they are not as major as this,” said Naidoo.
East London police spokesman Lieutenant Mtati Tana said police were not allowed to comment on incidents at the airport.
Bruce Janssens, Life Healthcare Group regional manager of Border-Kei and Port Elizabeth, confirmed that five patients had been admitted to Life St Dominic’s Hospital following the light aircraft accident yesterday morning.
Janssens said the patients were receiving treatment, but would not divulge details of their condition.
By late afternoon a family friend said the couple were undergoing surgery while the children were doing fine.
Horror EL plane crash
According to social media the injured, who were airlifted to Life St Dominic’s Hospital, are Willen Nieuwenhuis, his wife Sanja and their three children from Margate in KZN.
The children’s names are not known and the parents’ names have not been confirmed officially.
The private aircraft, which authorities have not been able to identify, was apparently being flown by Nieuwenhuis, an experienced pilot with a commercial pilot’s licence who owns an air charter company.
A family friend yesterday said he did not know where the family was headed, but believed there may have been difficulty landing the aircraft due to strong winds.
“We were informed that the children had minor injuries but the parents had multiple fractures,” said the family friend, who would not give any further comment.
Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) spokesman Collin Naidoo said the small aircraft had crash-landed on the main runway at 10.33am.
He confirmed there were two adults and three children on board but said it was unclear where the aircraft was coming from. “We had to close the main runway for safety reasons and a secondary runway was opened.
“The cause of the crash is still unknown and will be investigated by the civil aviation authority,” said Naidoo.
Provincial health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said emergency services were rushed to the airport. The two adults, critically injured, were airlifted by the emergency rescue helicopter and taken to hospital.
The three children, although their injuries were minor, were also flown there.
A spokesman from Dynamics Emergency Services in East London, Rudy Robson, said they received a call just after 11am informing them of the accident.
“The aircraft was completely wrecked.
“It had crashed on the grass patch next to the main runway. We are not sure what caused the crash but from what we heard it sounded like they had trouble with landing due to strong winds,” said Robson.
A senior weather forecaster at the SA Weather Services, Quinton Jacobs, said at around 9.30am the wind was blowing between 35 to 55km/h and a few minutes later there were reports that the wind had picked up excessively.
“We received reports that the wind picked up suddenly by 20km/h.
“This sudden change in the wind could have probably led to misjudgment by the pilot. However, we will have to wait for the investigation to be concluded,” Jacobs added.
When the Dispatch arrived at the airport, emergency vehicles were at the scene and an emergency air rescue helicopter was seen taking off.
The main gate near the runway was closed and Acsa security guards were preventing unauthorised entry by verifying identifications.
Motorists had stopped on the side of the road and some were even climbing on top of their cars to get a better view of what was happening.
Only the red and white tail of the aircraft could be spotted over the wall along Settlers Way, lying about 300m away.
Naidoo said it took the Acsa team an hour to clear the runway.
He said although he could not remember the last time such an incident occurred at the airport, this was a big one.
“We do have such incidents occurring but not frequently, and they are not as major as this,” said Naidoo.
East London police spokesman Lieutenant Mtati Tana said police were not allowed to comment on incidents at the airport.
Bruce Janssens, Life Healthcare Group regional manager of Border-Kei and Port Elizabeth, confirmed that five patients had been admitted to Life St Dominic’s Hospital following the light aircraft accident yesterday morning.
Janssens said the patients were receiving treatment, but would not divulge details of their condition.
By late afternoon a family friend said the couple were undergoing surgery while the children were doing fine.
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