A pilot who died when his aerobatics aircraft crashed into Table Bay off Milnerton on Friday afternoon was the sole occupant of the two-seater plane, Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) spokesperson Kanthan Pillay said.
The pilot’s name would be released once his next of kin had been notified, he said.
The aircraft, a privately owned Aero Vodochody L-29 Delfin jet trainer, took off from Air Force Base Ysterplaat as part of a team formation flight.
The aircraft was operated by the Sasol Tiger formation aerobatic team.
South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) spokesperson Phindiwe Gwebu said the crash was being investigated and an SACAA official was already on the scene.
The body was recovered from the scene about an hour after the crash.
”It is not very good news. One person has been found, but he is DOA [dead on arrival],” a reliable Cape Town harbour source told Sapa.
According to eyewitnesses on Cape Talk radio, the body was attached to a parachute and efforts by a helicopter crew earlier to retrieve it appeared to have failed.
A large number of small craft are reported to be still circling the area.
The aircraft was taking part in the AAAD exhibition in Cape Town, Pillay said.
He said the craft was doing a ”validation flight” connected with the exhibition.
Eyewitnesses said two groups of four planes each were practising formation flying at the time.
One flew too low and hit the water, raising ”a huge spout of water”.
The airshow, which opens on Saturday morning, is the major attraction of the two public days of the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2006 trade exhibition, being held at the Ysterplaat air force base near Table Bay.
AAD 2006, billed as Africa’s largest aerospace, defence and security exhibition, was officially opened by Minister of Defence Mosiuoa Lekota on Wednesday.
The last show, AAD 2004 in Pretoria, drew more than 22 000 professional trade visitors from Africa and beyond.
It is not the first time that the Sasol Tiger team lost a plane.
In September last year, Sasol Tiger Team pilots Gabriel Siyabonga Ndabandaba and Johnny ”Jet” Hattingh were killed when their L-29-Delfin crashed into the ground during a airshow in Vereeniging.
The two pilots had broken away from their four-plane display formation to begin a solo when their plane spiralled out of control, hit the ground and burst into flames.
It is not the first time that a plane crash has marred the Africa Aerospace and Defence shows either.
In 2002 an Air Force Harvard training aircraft hit the ground shortly before it was due to take part in a air display over Waterkloof Air Force Base. The pilot survived with minor injuries.
A few hours later a Harvard belong the Flying Lions Air display team, that was also taking part in the show, was forced to do an emergency landing in an open field near Irene. — Sapa