OUDTSHOORN NEWS - The pilot and a passenger of a Cessna C210 were killed when the aircraft crashed 9km from Oudtshoorn on Saturday afternoon.
The pilot, Doug Delange of Loodsfontein Boerdery close to Graaff-Reinet, was on his way to Graaff-Reinet when the light aircraft crashed in the northern part of the Oudtshoorn military zone.
At this stage the name of the passenger in the aircraft is unknown but it has been established that the person was an employee of Delange.
Pilots of the AMS emergency helicopter found the burnt-out wreckage of the missing light aircraft at about 07:00 on Sunday morning after Delange's wife reported the aircraft missing on Saturday afternoon when it failed to arrive at 14:00 as scheduled.
It was confirmed the aircraft departed from Mossel Bay on Saturday, however, it is not clear whether the pilot travelled via George Airport en route to Oudtshoorn before the fatal crash.
The South African Civil Aviation Authority is investigating the cause of the crash after the burnt wreckage of the aircraft was found in the mountains on Sunday morning, according to the Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre.
Spokesperson Santjie White said in a statement on Monday that a joint operations centre was established at the Oudtshoorn airfield on Sunday morning.
The Oudtshoorn Courant was notified on Saturday afternoon that the aircraft had gone missing but information about its last position was vague.
Delange and his wife were in the news at the beginning of February when they made a landing in Mossel Bay on 1 February because it appeared the aircraft had electrical problems while en route to the George Airport.
They were on a business when they experienced difficulties with the aircraft.
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