Plane crash: engine failure suspected

Plane crash in Winkelspruit.Picture Zanele Zulu.25/08/2015

Plane crash in Winkelspruit.Picture Zanele Zulu.25/08/2015

Published Aug 27, 2015

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Durban - Friends of the young aviators who died in a plane crash at Winkelspruit on Tuesday, took to social media on Wednesday to share their grief.

Pilots Kivash Narain, from Newlands West in Durban, and Congolese Armand Kakudja were flying over Winkelspruit, south of Durban, when their plane crashed at the edge of a sugar cane field.

Narain is believed to have been flying the Cessna 172 with Kakudji as his co-pilot.

The police suspect that the aircraft suffered an engine failure and attempts to land it on the N2 were unsuccessful as it clipped a power line before crashing. Emergency response teams found the plane engulfed in flames, with the pair already dead.

“Armand Kakudji I’ll never forget you, my brother. Rest in peace, brother, and sincere condolences to the whole family Kakudji,” wrote Jmarkus King Kaboba on his Facebook page.

His sentiments were shared by Kakudji’s other social media friends, who expressed sadness that he had died so young. Both pilots are believed to have been in their twenties. Attempts to get comments from their families were unsuccessful.

“Peace in your soul, Armand Kakudji, all of us we’ll follow you; there’s a time to laugh and a time to cry,” wrote John Ntambwa Mbala.

Durban aviator Ryan Douwie wrote: “Rest in peace my fellow aviators and friends. Still can’t believe how close to home this is.”

MiraMed Tshiasuma posted pictures of himself and Kakudji with a caption: “May your soul rest in peace, my dear friend.”

“Rest in peace my brothers, my friends, my fellow pilots. No way for anyone to go, but just know they went out doing what they love,” wrote Warsim Essop.

The light aircraft belonged to the Durban Aviation Centre, a flight school operating from Virginia Airport. A source who knew both Kakudji and Narain said they were pursuing their commercial pilot licences at the centre last year, but she was not sure whether they had completed their required flying hours. The flight school declined to comment.

The police are investigating a case of culpable homicide.

The Mercury

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