Ruan Nieuwenhuis, the son of the couple who were involved in the plane crash at the East London Airport this week, played a major role in saving his family.
The 17-year-old pulled his sisters, Liandri, 13, and Talita, 9, and their mom Sanja from the wreckage after their small plane crash-landed on Wednesday, said family spokeswoman Magda Meyer.
The pilot, his father Willem, who had flown the five-seater single-engine Maule, managed to free himself and crawled his way to safety before help arrived.
The plane crash was described as a “major incident” by Airports Company South Africa.
The couple sustained serious injuries while the children were not badly hurt. The family was airlifted to Life St Dominic’s Hospital.
Meyer, who is Willem’s sister, said her nephew was very brave. “Ruan got everyone else away from the plane as there was fuel leaking.”
She told the Saturday Dispatch that Willem and Sanja, who have been living on the South Coast for over 20 years, were doing well in hospital, were out of the Intensive Care Unit and were transferred to the surgical ward yesterday.
“Willem fractured his right wrist and injured his knee, Sanja fractured her knee and ankle. They will have to undergo further surgery and they are looking at a six-week recovery period.”
Meyer said the children are in good health and did not sustain any serious injuries, only bruises. They were kept overnight in hospital for observation.
Meyer said the Nieuwenhuis family was on route from Grahamstown to the South Coast and had to stop in East London to refuel when the plane crashed.
“Willem is an experienced commercial pilot with more than 1000 flight hours,” said Meyer. “They fly on a regular basis and this was the first time that they had experienced difficulties or been involved in a plane crash.
“Upon landing, a strong gust of wind from the side caused the plane to flip and tumble on the ground.”
A senior forecaster earlier told the Dispatch that an hour before the crash the wind was blowing between 35 to 55km/h and a few minutes later there were reports that the wind had suddenly picked up by 20km/h.
Meyer said she and other family members, including Sanja’s sister and Willem’s parents, were staying at a guesthouse close to the hospital.
“We will be heading back home soon where the children will be staying with relatives until Willem and Sanja return home from the hospital.”
Meyer thanked the management and staff at the hospital for taking good care of Willem and Sanja. She also thanked family and friends for all their prayers and support.
The cause of the crash is being investigated by the civil aviation authority and by the Department of Transport.