The 45-year-old Johannesburg student pilot of a light aircraft was killed when his plane crashed close to Lanseria International Airport in Johannesburg on Monday evening.
The man was a student pilot on a training flight, said the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
He was preparing to land the Piper Cherokee at Lanseria at 6.55pm, but hit power lines and went down on a farm. He died in the crash, which sparked a 3km blaze. He was alone at the time.
Pretoria police spokesperson Captain Tessa Jansen said the man’s family had asked that his name not be revealed at this stage.
CAA spokesperson Phindi Gwebu said students who have accumulated enough hours in the air are allowed to fly solo to rack up the flying hours they need to obtain their pilot’s licences.
Netcare 911 said the plane crashed between 2km and 3km from the airport runway.
”The small plane crashed and burst into flames and was almost totally destroyed,” said spokesperson Nick Dollman. ”Both wings and landing gear were ripped off the plane and lay scattered around the crash site.” — Sapa