An extensive search operation for a missing male pilot was launched after a light aircraft participating in an airshow at Durban North Beach crashed into the ocean on Thursday afternoon, reports Cape {town} Etc.
According to the South African Civil Aviation Authority, the 61-year-old pilot from Johannesburg was participating in the airshow segment of the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Summit at Battery Beach in Suncoast Casino, KwaZulu-Natal, when the crash occurred.
The third annual summit was being hosted at Virginia Airport.
‘The accident occurred at about 1:45pm when the ZS-AEC Extra 300 aircraft performing its final display crashed into the sea,’ said Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Sisa Majola.
Light aircraft crashes into the ocean off Durban’s Suncoast Beach. Emergency services are on scene, and the pilot is still missing. pic.twitter.com/UQQrUd2vba
— shaun.trennery.com (@shauntrennery) August 14, 2025
The eThekwini Municipality has since closed the beach to the public until further notice as emergency services search for the missing pilot.
ALS Paramedics, who were on the scene alongside police search and rescue teams and the National Sea Rescue Institute, confirmed that the search has been called off for this evening until tomorrow morning.
Details surrounding the cause of the crash and the identity of the pilot have yet to be released.
‘Despite the immediate and swift response and the ongoing extensive sea and air search operation, including police divers, Metro police divers, a police helicopter and the NSRI rescue craft, there remains no signs of the missing man,’ said NSRI.
‘An investigation will be opened by police and by Accident and Incident Investigations Division (AIID).’
At 2:47pm, ALS Paramedics reported that all necessary authorities were in attendance at the scene.
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Picture: @ZANewsFlash / X
