ANGELIQUE SERRAO, SHAUN SMILLIE and Graeme Hosken
A t St Peter’s Preparatory in Bryanston, the school’s flag was lowered to half-mast as across Gauteng family and friends mourned the victims of two plane crashes.
Yesterday, authorities found the two crash sites in the Wolkberg mountain range outside Tzaneen, Limpopo.
The names of the 13 dead, including three children, were released shortly after the discovery. On the Albatross aircraft, registration ZU-MMI, the names are: pilot Brian Gruar, 58, and passengers Marianne Anderson, Madison Doak, 7, and Alexandra Doak, 10, Louise Warden, 44, Tess Spence, and Kevin Woolacott.
On the second plane, registration ZS-NJX, the pilot was Peter Geldenhuys. The passengers included Peter and Stuart van Oldenborgh, Franz Dely, Marietjie de Witt and Linda Pierce.
Aside from his love for flying and recognition as a great airshow pilot, Gruar ran a motoring company in Wadeville, Germiston, called Gearbox Imports. Gruar was the pilot of the Albatross with the registration ZU MMI.
His employee, Chris van Zyl, had known him for 23 years. He struggled to hold back the tears as he spoke about his colleague.
“He was a wonderful man, very soft-hearted. Anyone who needed help… he was there for them.”
Brian’s partner Marianne was also killed in the crash. Van Zyl said the couple always sorted out everybody’s problems.
“Brian loved his flying. That’s what he lived for,” said Van Zyl. “Marianne was an avid runner and also a very well liked person.”
Alexandra and Madison were the children of Gruar’s niece. He fondly referred to them as his grandchildren.
On Facebook, a page was set up asking people to pray for the girls and their parents: Bronwyn and Andrew Doak. The family live in Qatar and were in South Africa on holiday.
Tarryn Vermaak posted a comment yesterday which read: “Please Lord let my family be found today, uncle Brian, aunty Ma, Ally and Madi and be with my cousin Bronwyn and her husband Andrew in this horrible time. Please Lord, let the rescue teams find them safe, quickly today, Please Lord.”
Madison and Alexandra had recently returned to South Africa on a three-week holiday with their parents after moving to Qatar a year ago.
Two Sundays ago, the Doak family held a reunion in Modderfontein, where their grandmother Jenny spoilt the girls with “roast chicken and potatoes”.
The two sisters’ father, Andrew, works as an IT geographical mapping expert in Qatar.
The other youngster killed, Stuart, was an old boy at St Peter’s Preparatory. The school’s principal, Nigel Sloane, has fond memories of the boy nicknamed Smiley.
Sloane remembers Stuart as a “beautiful, beautiful” child who enjoyed rock climbing and who left the school in 2009 to head to St Andrew’s in Grahamstown. Two weeks ago, Sloane saw Stuart, now in Grade 9, while visiting Grahamstown. “Stuart was playing rugby and came up to me to tell me how he was doing,” said Sloane.
St Andrew’s College principal Aiden Smith said the school was devastated by Stuart’s death.
“Stuart was fondly known as Smiley by his friends, and this encapsulated his effervescent and friendly personality. He was a highly intelligent and talented young lad who will be sorely missed by the boys and the staff at St Andrew’s College. Our deeply felt condolences go out to his mother Gillian and his younger brother Kieran at this dreadful time,” Smith said.
His father, Peter van Oldenborgh, was also a pilot.
Shirley Meyer remembers her friend and colleague Linda Pierce as an energetic person who was well loved in the aviation industry. She surprised her work colleagues when she became engaged to Athol Franz, an aviation enthusiast and managing editor of African Pilot.
“Travelling to airshows with Athol became part of her life,” Meyer said. “She was the kind of person who made friends and had an awesome time. We are going to miss her.”
Woolacott, an airshow co-ordinator, worked in the paper industry and freelanced at the radio station Capital Sounds.
His Capital Sounds colleague, Brian Emmelis, described Woolacott, a Durban resident, as one of the country’s finest airshow co-ordinators, who also worked on big events like the Duzi canoe race and the Midmar mile.
“He was hugely sought after, so much so that he was actually flown into the big airshows,” Emmelis said. “He was an awesome person, an absolute professional. On Saturday at the airshow in Tzaneen, he received a huge round of applause for the work he had done.”
Emmelis said Woolacott was survived by his wife and two children.
Warden was a businesswoman who started her own events and marketing company in Pretoria, Ping Pong Communications. Her sister-in-law, Lara Warden, described her as the matriarch.
“She had unbelievable resources of energy, such a caring and giving nature. That’s what made her so special. She was our matriarch, our pillar. If we needed advice we called Louise,” Lara said.
Louise’s husband Glen is a pilot and she attended the airshow with him. Between them, they had five children.
Yesterday, the Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele sent his condolences to the families.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with them all during these difficult moments,” Ndebele said.