Two men had a lucky escape when their light aircraft had to make an emergency landing in Aalwyndal, Mossel Bay, on Saturday afternoon.
Pilot Roger Brink and Dirk Uys, the owner of the plane, were injured.
Emergency equipment had to be used to free them from the wreckage, after which they were taken to hospitals in George and Mossel Bay.
Wreckage
Police closed off the area. A police officer on Sunday guarded the wreckage of the yellow plane, which lay scattered in the bush.
Brink, 48, from Mossel Bay, had an emergency operation on Saturday after breaking a bone in his hand. A metal pin and screws had to be inserted into his hand.
Uys was treated in George and was released on Sunday. He sustained a fracture to his cheek bone and injuries to his left eye.
Brink told Die Burger from his hospital bed on Sunday that the accident had happened at about 14:30 on Saturday.
He had 14 years of flight experience and it was the first time that something like this happened to him.
Uys, who was the passenger, had built the two-seater Cubby plane himself.
Brink said they had taken off on Saturday afternoon from the Mossel Bay airfield. The weather was fine. They had been in the air for about six minutes when the plane started losing power at 1 200 feet.
Power lines
“I knew this meant trouble. There wasn’t any place to land really. I later saw there were power lines. I then landed under the power lines.”
The accident happened about 4km northeast of the airfield.
Brink said he only registered shock about the incident after the accident. He thanked emergency services for their quick action. “I am grateful to be alive.”
Spokesperson for Mossel Bay police, Captain Wollie Fourie, said the Civil Aviation Authority would investigate the accident. It was standard procedure. Police were called to the scene and provided assistance.
Vanessa Jackson from ER24 told Sapa that a plane had done a test flight when it allegedly developed mechanical problems. The passenger side was badly damaged.
[Story by Eugene Gunning appeared in Die Burger]