Pilot forced to land on salt pan

Two young pilots had a narrow escape yesterday when they were forced to make an emergency landing in a salt pan between Coega and Colchester.

Dozens of Madiba Bay School of Flight cadets and students later carried the aircraft out of the water on their backs.

The 19-year-old pilot of the twoseater Sling 2, who has not been identified, is believed to have misjudged how high the plane was during a standard licence renewal flight exercise.

Both the pilot and his passenger, a 21-year-old helicopter pilot, escaped unscathed.The aircraft went down on a private farm – used for mining – in the area of the salt pans off Tankatara Road, about 2km off the N2.

The alarm was raised within minutes of the landing and emergency services from across Port Elizabeth responded.

Madiba Bay School of Flight owner Gerhard van Eeden said he was happy the two young men were not injured.

“I was in shock when I received the call,” he said.

“The first thing was concern over their safety and then, of course, the financial implications the school would face.

“Thankfully, there were no injuries – the guys were lucky that the aircraft didn’t flip and land on the roof.”

Van Eeden said the pilot had been exercising a standard simulator test, in which the aircraft is fairly close to the ground.

“There was nothing mechanically wrong with the aircraft but he must have misjudged the height and the wheels touched the water.

“The highlight for us was how quickly everyone came out to the scene to help – the wings were buried in the waist-high water.

“Our students and cadets literally carried the aircraft on their backs,” he said.

The aircraft, estimated to be worth about R1.5-million, would cost the school about R100 000 to fix and would be stationary for about three months.

In a similar incident in December 2012, another aircraft was forced to land in Bluewater Bay.

Police spokesman Captain Andre Beetge said the pilot in yesterday’s incident was conducting a training flight when turbulence forced him to land the aircraft in the water.

“They landed in metre-deep water and managed to walk to the side.

“According to the pilot, he encountered severe turbulence which forced him to land in the water.”

Xtreme Projects owner Kevin Kelly was also alerted, to ensure no fuel was leaking into the water.

“I can confirm that there is no pollution,” he said.

South African Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Kabelo Ledwaba said an investigation was under way.

Ledwaba said the aircraft sustained minor damages.

He said the authority’s Accident and Incident Investigation Division had given the owner permission to remove the aircraft.