Trainee pilot dies after flight
Date: 9 March 2011
A trainee pilot collapsed and died after a flight in a Hawk fighter at the Makhado air base in Limpopo on Tuesday afternoon, the Defence Department said.
The man had successfully completed a training flight moments before he collapsed, spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Maseko said in a statement.
Medics tried to help him, but he died on the scene.
The Air Force had convened a board of inquiry to determine the cause of death.
Neither his name nor his age could be released as the SAAF was still informing his relatives.
He was stationed at 85 Combat Flying School.
The minister of defence, acting chief of the South African National Defence Force Lieutenant General Themba Matanzima and South African Air Force chief Lieutenant General Carlo Gagiano conveyed their condolences to the man's family and friends.
Source: Independant Online.
The Unofficial SAAF Website extends its deepest condolences to family and friends,
