Saldanha – What was supposed to be a spectacle of aerobatics demonstrations and flying skills turned into a tragedy when a 1970s light combat aircraft, the Impala ZU-IMP, crashed at the West Coast Airshow in Saldanha.
Men, women, and children watched in horror as the aircraft hurtled toward the ground and crashed.
Soon after the crash, huge amounts of smoke billowed into the sky.
A sizable crowd had gathered at the West Coast Airshow in Saldanha, Western Cape, on Saturday, (22 March 2025), when tragedy struck in the afternoon.
Organisers announced after the crash that experienced pilot James O’Connell had sadly died.
Andreas Spaeth, an international aviation journalist based in Germany, posted on X: “Tragic crash of 1970s light combat aircraft Impala ZU-IMP today at Saldanha Airshow in #SouthAfrica. I attended the show, due to low ceiling only very limited flights. Had inspected the plane this morning, but had left when it happened. Pilot died #aircrash #avgeek“
IOL quoted Airshow commentator Brian Emmenis, as saying: “He went into the dirty configuration, he rolled the aircraft – the dirty configuration is when the undercarriage is extended – he turned the aircraft, the undercarriage was up.
“On coming out of it, one could clearly see that he was losing height.
“He went out towards the hangars – he was at that stage in a serious deep dive – and he went straight into the ground.
“There was no sign of an attempt to eject. Emergency services responded immediately, the crowd remained behind the barriers, totally stunned, and medical attention was handed to the crowd.”
The event’s emergency response plan was activated and first responders were on scene within moments.
The area was immediately secured to ensure the safety of all attendees. No spectators were injured during the incident.
IOL said the South African Civil Aviation Authority and Air Show South Africa had been notified and were investigating.
Meanwhile, the Accident and Incident Investigations Division (AIID) said it was working with the event safety officers to collate preliminary information.
“The site has been secured in the interim pending the arrival of the investigation team,” the AIID said.
“The AIID will provide a public update from the scene, should this be deemed necessary.
“A preliminary report will be published on the SACAA website 30 days from the day of the accident.”
