'Gut landing' saves five

2005-02-07 23:48

Linda de Nysschen

Nelspruit - There was a deathly silence in the cockpit of Toit du Toit's light aircraft on Sunday as he carried out an almost-perfect emergency landing on the busy R40 between Nelspruit and White River.

Had it not been for the rear wheel that broke off, the old military plane, an Atlas Kudu CM4, might not have crashed into a barrier after it veered across the road.

Instead, it could have merged with the flow of traffic and slowed down with all the cars.

However, Du Toit, 36, and his four passengers, describe their landing as a miracle - especially as neither they nor any motorists were seriously injured.

Du Toit managed to put the plane down in a gap between cars.

Luckily, there was also no oncoming traffic when the plane veered across the road.

Gerhard Goosen, 44, a friend and fellow pilot who has survived two previous emergency landings, had the most injuries when his arms were burnt, as were those of Du Toit's and Johan Cronje'.

Dragged to safety

He was trapped in the body of the plane, with leaking fuel, when it touched down.

But, Goosen and Cronje's father, Gert, 54, were able to drag him to safety only seconds before it caught fire.

The fifth person on board, Tony MacBride of Brakpan, escaped unscathed.

The men had been out on a joyride on Sunday when the plane suddenly hit air pockets and started shuddering.

Du Toit said: "I flew it at full throttle until I touched down on the tarmac."

Dieter Kaiser, the owner of a model glider, said he and other enthusiasts kept their planes on the ground on Sunday despite what appeared to be perfect flying conditions.

"There was no lift, but instead a pull that kept pulling the gliders down.

"It was in complete contrast to ideal flying conditions," he said.

Speaking from his hospital bed on Monday, Goosen told how no one said a word during the crash landing.

Pilot burst into tears

Du Toit stayed calm until Goosen and Cronjé were taken to hospital.

Only then did he burst into tears when MacBride embraced him.

"This is why someone becomes a pilot. You must stick to your gut feeling.

"When I decided an emergency landing was the best thing, I had to stick to it," said Du Toit.

In 2002, Goosen spent seven days in a critical condition in hospital after flying into power lines near Naboomspruit.

- Beeld