DJ Black Coffee hurt on flight to Argentina
Grammy Award-winning DJ Black Coffee’s family has confirmed to Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa that he is recovering in hospital after he was injured on a flight in Argentina after a turbulence emergency.
The 47-year-old DJ, real name Nkosinathi Maphumulo, was en route from Brazil to a club performance in the Argentinian resort city of Mar del Plata when the incident happened on Tuesday.
Black Coffee’s management confirmed he was receiving “the best possible medical attention and is surrounded by a supportive family and team” after “unforeseen complications had left him with some injuries”.
The DJ was set to perform at the Mute club but the show was cancelled, with the nightclub saying in a statement on Wednesday evening: “Dear fans of Argentina, Black Coffee regrets to inform you that following severe air turbulence on his private direct flight from Florianopolis [in Brazil] to Mar del Plata tonight, he had to make an emergency landing at the Montevideo Airport [in Uruguay].”
The routing, in an apparent chartered flight, would have taken the plane carrying him through some of the most turbulent atmospheric conditions in the world.
According to turbil.com – a website which ranks countries, routes and airports according to the severity of turbulence affecting planes – the route from Florianopolis to Ciudad de la Costa in Uruguay, which would have been on Black Coffee’s route to Argentina, has the third-highest average turbulence of all air routes in South America.
In addition, Uruguay, where Black Coffee’s plane was forced to land, recorded the fifth-highest average turbulence globally in December 2023.
Kodwa, in a statement shared on his X social media account, said: “I spoke to Black Coffee’s family last night who are with him. All the best in your recovery Mashiane, Zukuzela, Masiyana. I wish you a speedy recovery Black Coffee.
“You have done so much to elevate South African music and take it to the world.”
Messages of well wishes and prayers have come from different parts of the world, owing to the reach of his global brand.
“The EFF wishes Nkosinathi Black Coffee Maphumulo a speedy recovery. Our prayers are with you Black Coffee,” the Economic Freedom Fighters said in a statement.
Black Coffee was ranked the 25th-biggest DJ in the world in last year’s Top 100 DJs poll that is administered by international publication DJ Mag’s DJs. French megastar David Guetta claimed his fourth victory, taking the title back from Martin Garrix, who nabbed the crown in 2022.
Last year, Black Coffee etched his name in music industry history by being the first South African DJ and producer to perform at Madison Square Garden in New York.
His other recent accolades include winning a Grammy Award in 2022 for the Best Dance/Electronic Album for his seventh studio album,
The incident when South African megastar musician Nkosinathi “Black Coffee” Maphumulo was badly injured as the plane he was flying in was struck by severe air turbulence is a reminder that, while air travel is statistically the safest form of transport, nature’s elements are still very powerful.
He was flying from Brazil, over Uruguay, to Argentina, where he was to perform in the coastal city of Mar Del Plata when the incident occurred. The plane was forced to land in Montevideo, capital of Uruguay, where the musician was taken to hospital.
Unfortunately for him, the plane’s flight path took it through some of the areas in South America worst affected by atmospheric turbulence. Radar and other systems have vastly improved over the years since a British Airways Boeing 707 disintegrated because of severe “clear air turbulence” around Mount Fuki in Japan in 1966, so the dangers of weather can be minimised.
However, the reality is that systems in our atmosphere can still be unpredictable.
Moral of the story: If you are in bumpy weather and the aircrew of the plane tell you to fasten your seatbelts, don’t ignore them…