FLIER AFTER PLANE CRASHES
above ground was already too low and it impacted the tree tops before crashing to the ground and bursting into flames.”
The fuel tank ignited, causing a huge fireball on David’s side of the cockpit. Michelle could not open her door due to serious hand injuries.
The report added: “The Pilot Monitoring unbuckled himself and opened the left door allowing her to vacate followed one at a time by the other three occupants.
“The PM then vacated the burning aircraft wreckage last but by then had sustained approximately 99% burn injuries as the plane was consumed by post impact fire. All occupants of the aircraft walked to a nearby gravel road about a mile from the accident site and were transported to hospital. The PM succumbed to his burn injuries two days following the accident.”
Investigators said David’s actions saved the passengers from what they described as an “unsurvivable” crash.
The report suggested, given the forecast, the group may have been better off waiting a day to complete their return flight, allowing the weather to improve.
But delaying would have meant the sisters would have missed their mother’s memorial service in Benoni, near Johannesburg, the next day. The report ruled the crash was due to a “Controlled Flight Into Terrain” by a pilot unaware of the “impending disaster”. It said “poor flight planning” was also a contributory factor.
Both David and Michelle – whose late dad was British – were qualified pilots and parachutists who did hundreds of jumps together. He had over 1,100 flight hours on his licence. Michelle had 175.
She is also a scuba diver, biker and drives 4x4s. In 2008 she survived a crash when her Kawasaki 500 veered off a small cliff in Blyth, Northumberland.
Reports at the time said her injuries left her “looking like a Klingon”.
After the plane crash, one of the bosses of Bushpilot Adventures hailed David as a hero. He said: “Another 50ft and he would have made it, that’s how close it was.
“In the midst of the flames, he pulled everybody else out before he got himself out. He managed to lead the group down the mountain, egging them on. David, I salute you. You sacrificed your life saving the others. Without your stubborn strength to pull everyone out of the flames nobody would have survived.”