Former South African Rugby communications manager Chris Hewitt died in the plane crash near Hekpoort, north-west of Krugersdorp, on Wednesday, Beeld reported on Thursday.
Hewitt (24) resigned from SA Rugby last month following reports of a sex tape involving Springbok coach Peter de Villiers.
Hewitt’s mother, Beverley, confirmed to Beeld that he had died in the crash, which killed another person who has not yet been named.
”Flying was his passion. He started with flying lessons this month,” she said.
Hewitt, a former rugby writer, left SA Rugby under a cloud just before he would have appeared before a disciplinary hearing. He was allegedly the one who made the claims of the sex tape, allegedly showing De Villiers with a prostitute. Existence of the tape has never been proven.
The two-seater aircraft crashed on Wednesday at about 5pm after witnesses saw it spiralling from the air.
Commissioner for civil aviation Captain Colin Jordaan said that since October 1, 12 accidents occurred, of which seven had resulted in 23 fatalities. — Sapa