'Miracle' as five survive crash
2005-02-07 15:43
Riot Hlatshwayo and Justin Arenstein
White River - A pilot and four friends "miraculously" survived a crash-landing on the main road between Nelspruit and White River in Mpumalanga on Sunday afternoon.
The eight-seater Kudu aircraft, that once belonged to the air force, developed a technical problem and burnt out completely shortly after slamming into an embankment at about 17:00.
"I don't usually believe in miracles, but must say it was a real miracle that the people escaped with their lives because the aircraft was a complete wreck," said White River police spokesperson Erhard Stroh, on Monday.
"Fortunately, there were no vehicles on this otherwise busy road," he added.
Injuries
All five occupants were taken to Nelspruit Medi-Clinic.
Pilot Tooi du Toit and two of his passengers, Anthony McBride and Johan Cronje, were treated for minor burns and discharged from hospital.
The two other passengers, Cronje's father, Gert, and Gerald Goosen were hospitalised.
Cronje sen dislocated his right knee while Goosen is being treated for minor burns to his ears, hands and back.
Du Toit said the aircraft started to lose power and that he decided to perform an emergency landing on the road because the double lane in the direction from White River to Nelspruit was quiet.
"When we touched ground, the plane went out of control, crashed into a sand embankment next to the road and caught fire," said Du Toit.
Scrambled to safety
All five men managed to scramble out to safety.
Police, soldiers and traffic cops were still clearing the site on Monday morning and had to divert traffic.
Stroh said the road was cleared by about 09:30, shortly after investigators from the Civil Aviation Authority of South Africa visited the site.
Spokesperson for the CAASA, Moses Seate, said the investigators were expected to compile a full report on the cause of the accident.