Accident claims lives of shining Kishugu cadets
MBOMBELA - Shockwaves rippled through the aviation fraternity when an accident near the Witbank Airfield claimed three lives on Sunday.
Themba Maebela (34) and Donald Malekutu (29), both Kishugu Aviation Training Organisation cadet pilots based in Mbombela, were among the deceased. They were beyond recognition. The sole survivor, a 40-year-old male, was admitted to Witbank Provincial Hospital's ICU, where he is being treated for severe burn wounds. He is in a critical condition and is currently intubated.
The third victim has not yet been identified, pending DNA tests.
In a statement by Working on FireKishugu Joint Venture, it was confirmed that the accident had occurred at about 15:40, when a Cessna 172 of the Kishugu Aviation Training Organisation crashed shortly after take-off from Witbank Airfield.
According to the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s (Sacaa) Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation Division (AIID), the aircraft was destroyed by fire.
Linton Rensburg, the spokesperson for Working on Fire-Kishugu Joint Venture, said no further details can be provided at this stage, pending an internal investigation team working with Sacaa to determine the cause of the accident.
A preliminary report will be issued 30 days from the day of the accident.
According to Rensburg, Maebela and Malekutu were both former firefighters of the Working on Fire Programme, and were part of the WOF-Kishugu Cadet Pilot Programme.
Maebela started as a firefighter at the Graskop base in May 2010, and was promoted to the role of crew leader type 2 in 2012. He advanced to crew leader type 1 in 2013.
He later assumed the position of helicopter pilot assistant in February
2014. He was selected to join the cadet pilot programme on April 1, 2021, and successfully completed his private pilot’s licence (PPL) on March 31, 2022.
Malekutu started out as a firefighter at the Magaliesberg base in Gauteng on March 12, 2014, swiftly advancing to crew leader type 2 by September 1, 2015. He then became a helicopter personal assistant in November 24, 2016.
He was selected to join the WOFKishugu Cadet Pilot Programme on June 1, 2022, and successfully completed his PPL on March 29, 2023, with the noteworthy achievement of passing all his exams on the first attempt.
Trevor Abrahams, managing director of WOF and chairperson of Kishugu Aviation Holdings, said: “This tragic accident has robbed us of two of our promising aviation graduates, who rose from humble beginnings in the WOF programme to obtaining their PPLs and then onto the challenging task of obtaining their commercial pilot’s licences. Their story served as an inspiration to everyone in the WOF family, and we sadly bid them farewell after this tragic event. Hamba kahle, and may you rest in peace, Donald and Themba.”
Maebela leaves behind a son and three daughters, his parents and his brother and sister, and Malekutu his two brothers and his mother. Details surrounding their funerals were not known at the time of going to press.