A light aircraft carrying a pilot and one crew member was forced to make an emergency landing on a golf course in the Durban North area near Virginia Airport on Thursday.
Marshall Security’s Andreas Mathios said a light aircraft was on final approach to the airport when it got into difficulty, necessitating an emergency crash landing on a nearby golf course.
“The pilot of the aircraft is unharmed and has been checked out by paramedics, receiving a clean bill of health.
“He is on scene together with his superiors, assessing the situation and determining how they are actually going to get the aircraft off the golf course,” he said.
According to Mathios, the air traffic control tower in and around Virginia airfield was still active following the incident, with aircraft landing and taking off as normal.
“An ongoing investigation will be concluded in the next couple of weeks regarding this incident, as is standard protocol with all aircraft that crash or have an emergency landing of some sort,” he added.
IPSS Medical Rescue confirmed that the pilot and one crew member were assessed at the scene by medics.
DA KZN spokesperson for transport, MPL Riona Gokool, welcomed the swift response by eThekwini emergency services, including the eThekwini Fire Department, local ambulance services, SAPS, Metro Police, and environmental authorities.
She noted that the incident involving a two-seater aircraft took place about two kilometres south of the airport.
“While the cause of the emergency landing is not yet established, the Civil Aviation Authority will investigate,” she said.
She added that it was miraculous that no lives were lost and that there was no indication of environmental damage.
“This is largely due to the quick thinking of the pilot and his skills. South African trained pilots are some of the best in the world, and the aversion of a major disaster is testimony to this,” Gokool concluded.
The South African Civil Aviation Authority was approached but no comment was received by the time of publication.
The golf course’s staff declined to comment on Thursday.
The Mercury