News24 | SA aviation authority launches investigation after pilot dies in Free State aircraft crash

A pilot died after an aircraft crashed near Bloemfontein on Friday.

• A 45-year-old pilot died when a Piper Pacer PA-22 aircraft crashed about 30km from Bram Fischer International Airport on Friday.
• There were no passengers on the aircraft.
• The South African Civil Aviation Authority has launched an investigation, and a preliminary report is expected within 30 days.

The South African Civil Aviation Authority’s (Sacaa) Accidents and Incidents Investigations Division is probing an aircraft crash, which occurred in Ferreira, near Bloemfontein, on Friday, claiming the life of the 45-year-old pilot.

There were no passengers on the aircraft.

Sacaa spokesperson Sisa Majola told News24 the Piper Pacer PA-22 aircraft left the Stellenbosch Airstrip in the Western Cape with the intention of completing refuelling stops in Beaufort West and at Bram Fischer International Airport in Bloemfontein.

Its scheduled destination was the Coves Airstrip near Lanseria International Airport in Gauteng.

“The pilot did broadcast his arrival intentions to the Bloemfontein Air Traffic Control tower at approximately 10:32. According to information, the aircraft then disappeared from the radar with all radio communication lost shortly after.

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“A coordinated search and rescue operation eventually located the wreckage approximately 30km from Bram Fischer International Airport, with the operation confirming that the aircraft was destroyed by impact forces,” Majola said.

Police spokesperson, Sergeant Mahlomola Kareli, said emergency medical service officers found the pilot trapped in the wreckage. He was declared dead on the scene.

An inquest docket was opened, according to Kareli.

Majola said investigators were gathering evidence and would issue the preliminary report 30 days from the date of this accident.

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Sacaa’s Accidents and Incidents Investigations Division extended its condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.

Earlier last month, Sacaa announced that 43 aircraft accidents were reported in the 2025/26 financial year, which started on 1 April 2025 and will conclude on 31 March 2026.

At the time, the entity reported that 17 people lost their lives in the crashes.

In the 2024/25 financial year, 131 accidents were reported, with seven people confirmed dead. In the 2023/24 financial year, 115 accidents were reported, with 19 deaths.