Durban – The search for the missing aircraft that departed Virginia Airport on Sunday afternoon has come to a tragic end after rescuers found the wreckage and three dead occupants – one of them a student pilot, Nqobile Biyela.
“We have received an updated report from the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC) following the disappearance of a light aircraft,” stated KwaZulu-Natal Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma on Monday.
“As indicated by ARCC in our meeting, unfortunately, the three passengers in the aircraft died.
“ARCC informed us that they will be handing over the matter to the SAPS’s [SA Police Service] Accident and Incident Investigation Division and the South African Civil Aviation Authority for the official investigation.
“We express our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased passengers.”
“In particular, we are in touch with Ms. Zama Biyela, the mother of the late student pilot Ms. Nqobile Biyela.”
