Public rallies to find KZN pilot

THE PUBLIC has been urged to be on the lookout and report any sightings of debris along the northern KwaZulu-Natal coast, as the search for the missing Newcastle pilot and his aircraft continues.

Aeronautical Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre chief Santjie White said while police search-and-rescue units had returned to their bases, the search had not stopped, and it would be resumed if any credible information was received.

This comes as the search for Newcastle mining engineer Johan Fourie enters its fifth day.

All coastal stations, National Sea Rescue Institute crews, beach patrollers and others have also been alerted to be on the lookout, while Isimangaliso Wetland Park rangers patrol the shoreline.

Fourie, 61, was reported missing by his wife Charmaine after she could not make contact with him, and he had not returned from a solo flight in his private Foxbat aircraft on Wednesday.

The light aircraft had last been picked up on radar over the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mabibi, north of Sodwana Bay.

Francois Cornelessen, a skipper in the area, was one of the many business and private citizens who took part in the search using their own boats and planes.

On a boat usually charted for scuba diving, he and a colleague sailed out about 15km, searching a stretch for Fourie’s aircraft.

“We thought we would see the plane floating or a piece of it sticking out, but there was nothing,” Cornelessen said.

After several hours at sea, they went back disappointed, he added.

Pierre Conradie, chief executive of Alpha Security in Hluhluwe, said his aerial search had also proved futile.

He made his aircraft, security vehicles and control room available to assist in the search.

Although Conradie does not know Fourie, he said he could not just stand by while a fellow pilot was possibly in distress.

“We are a close-knit community. If someone needs help, this community stands together and does what it can.

“I’m a pilot myself and I’d like to think that everyone would have done the same for me,” he said.

Conradie said he has had two aircraft accidents himself. After one, he spent six weeks in intensive care, and after the other, he walked away without a scratch.

“In aviation you can be flying for decades and one day have an accident. There is always a lesson to be learnt.

“Besides closure for the family, that is why we carry on searching,” he said.

Patrol

Conradie planned to do another air reconnaissance today, weather permitting.

White said all coastal stations had been alerted.

“There have been a few reports from members of the public, but they are not tying in with the information that we have.”

White said she had never had a case where an aircraft was never recovered.

“There was one case a long time ago where a plane was found seven years later. But that was not because we didn’t know where it was. It was because of the density of the forest; we could not get to it.

“In this case, it’s too early to draw conclusions,” she said.

“We are keeping the search open and we will be looking out for any debris.

“If we do not get any positive leads on Wednesday, I will then discuss with the family what should be done.”

Fourie lives with his wife in Newcastle.

Family friend Hennie Coertzen said they were praying for Fourie’s safe return or to get closure.