A determined search by internet-coordinated volunteers on Saturday found the body of pilot Dirk Boosyen 11 days after he went missing in the Bavianskloof region of the Eastern Cape, police said on Sunday.
”They discovered the burnt-out wreck at about 6pm [on Saturday] in the Matjiesfontien farm in the Baviaanskloof area on the peaks of the mountain — 300 feet from the top of the mountain, which is approximately 9 000 feet high,” said Captain John Fobian.
After officials had abandoned the search on Wednesday, holidaymakers, farmers, labourers, Tracker South Africa and family members continued looking for Booysen, said a report in Rapport newspaper on Sunday.
The search for Booysen, through bad weather and difficult terrain, commenced on Boxing Day after his wife reported him missing.
Aviation search and rescue services were alerted when he did not arrive to pick up his rental car from the George airport, four hours after he was due to arrive from Wonderboom airport in Pretoria.
The volunteers slept out in the open while internet users on the AvCom aviation website coordinated the search and logged GPS coordinates sent in by searchers, the report said.
A helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft — which cost the family more than R5 000 per day — were hired to aid in the search.
”The family and friends continued the search by hiring private aircraft as well, [and got] help from volunteers and farmers,” said Fobian.
The official search included planes from the army and the police, police reservists, people on foot and police from seven surrounding stations, Fobian said.
Charles Norval, head of the national search and rescue operations suspended the search on Wednesday until they had more information to go on.
Rapport also quotes Norval as saying this was the second time in 15 years that a search was halted after a pilot could not be found.
The police flew to the crash site on Sunday and removed the body, took pictures and video recordings and drew a plan of the area.
The Civil Aviation Authority dispatched a team of investigators from Gauteng to the site on Sunday, said Fobian. — Sapa