SowetanLive reports that Lwazi Msane-Mchunu, a licensed pilot, died together with 23-year-old student pilot Nqobile Biyela and medical student Siphesihle Buthelezi when their plane crashed between Mooi River and Greytown after it reportedly ran out of fuel.
Mchunu's uncle Sifundiso Mchunu reported that he had travelled on Saturday from Pretoria to Durban in the company of his friend Buthelezi and Biyela as well as his colleagues who travelled on a different flight. He said the five were to travel back to Pretoria on Sunday. He went on to report what happened: “When they left Durban they did not have enough fuel so they had to travel to the nearest airport, which was in Ladysmith, for a refill. They got an instruction that they could not land in Ladysmith and told to go to Pietermaritzburg but they experienced bad weather. From there they went to Greytown as it was the nearest airport but there again they were met with a thick fog, heavy rain and winds.” One of the flights tried to land but ended crashing into a sugar cane field with its two occupants, who sustained minor injuries. However, the plane Msane-Mchunu was piloting could not land and reached out for help with finding a suitable landing area, but had no luck. Later, their flight crashed between Mooi River and Greytown after it ran out of fuel. In a separate incident four days earlier, another crash in Lanseria claimed the life of 24-year-old pilot Micyla Steyn. The KZN crash brought to 49 the number of crashes since the beginning of the year. Nine people died in those crashes.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Michelle Banda at SowetanLive
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