Crew safe after airforce plane crashes
Date: 23 July 2011
By Dean Wingrin
The crew of a South African Air Force light transport aircraft survived with light injuries when their aircraft crashed today.
It is believed that the Cessna Caravan aircraft was participating in Operation Winter Solstice when it crashed near the Kei River mouth area of the Eastern Cape.
Unconfirmed reports state that the aircraft ‘tumbled' about three times whilst attempting a down-slope landing. The pilot is reported to have injured her hand, but the other occupants on board were uninjured. It is not know how many people were aboard the aircraft at the time of the crash.
An airforce Oryx helicopter has been dispatched to load the Caravan onto a trailer for transportation.
Operation Winter Solstice is an airforce air defence exercise taking place in the Eastern Cape and Southern Kwa-Zulu Natal during the period 18-31 July.
No immediate comment was available from the airforce.
