Elderly man hit by gyrocopter dies

A MAN, believed to be in his seventies, was killed when he was hit by a gyrocopter while trying to make an emergency landing in Gauteng yesterday.

Netcare 911 spokesperson Shawn Herbst said that at 12.06pm yesterday reports were received of an aircraft crash on the shore of the Vaal Marina next to the R54.

“They indicated that a gyrocopter collided with an elderly male believed to be in his seventies while trying to perform an emergency landing.

“The patient was assessed on scene by a Netcare 911 emergency care practitioner and found to have no signs of life and declared dead on the scene,” he said, adding that circumstances leading up to the incident were unknown.

The SAPS secured the area for South African Civil Aviation Authority investigators, he said.