Durban - Despite a horrific accident last month, the Margate couple whose small aircraft crashed at East London Airport have no fear of flying again.
Willem and Sanja Nieuwenhuis, who are recuperating, and their children, Ruan, Liandri and Talita, were flying to Margate on their way back from the Grahamstown National Arts Festival when the accident occurred. They had planned to stop in East London to refuel the plane.
The couple were seriously injured and admitted at the Life St Dominic’s Hospital, but their children escaped with just a few bumps and bruises.
Willem injured his right knee, chest and forearm while both Sanja’s legs had been injured. Speaking to The Mercury on Thursday night, Sanja said they were back home after spending 12 days in hospital.
“It is very frustrating because we cannot drive or walk anywhere. The mental side of it is almost worse than the physical side, because you cannot do anything, you cannot work or go anywhere,” she said.
Sanja said they had not gone back to work and were still having difficulty moving around their home.
“We still cannot do much on our own. We were told we had to wait six weeks after the operations. The doctor will tell us what happens next,” she said.
The couple have two full-time helpers at home assisting them.
“We are both fine, we are doing better every day. We have crutches and I have a wheelchair. We also have good support from family and friends,” she said.
Explaining how the accident happened, Sanja said they were about a metre-and-a-half to touchdown when the aircraft crashed.
“There was a sudden gust of wind at about 50km/h that hit our plane on the left wing and it was like a kite. We had no control because the plane was just too light,” she said.
Sanja said the aircraft had been written off. She said they were looking at buying a new one.
“I have been flying my whole life and this was just a freak accident. We do not know about our children, but the two of us, we will fly again,” she said.
Sanja said she was grateful to the East London community.
“We were overwhelmed by how caring they were. They looked after our children the first night we were admitted,” she said.
The Mercury