‘Went Straight Into the Ground’

A pilot was killed after his plane crashed in entrance of a stay viewers throughout an air present in South Africa.

James O’Connell was performing on the West Coast Air Present in Saldanha in entrance of hundreds of spectators on Saturday, March 22, when the crash occurred, in response to a statement from air present officers.

“It’s with profound unhappiness that the organisers of the West Coast Airshow affirm a deadly accident involving James O’Connell, a extremely expert and revered take a look at pilot from South Africa, when he piloted the Impala Mark 1 plane throughout as we speak’s show in Saldanha,” the assertion started.

“Regardless of the plane showing steady by many of the efficiency, a sudden lack of altitude throughout the closing [maneuver] led to a devastating crash,” the assertion continued.

Emergency providers responded instantly and no spectators have been injured, per the official assertion.

Air present officers additionally shared that present commentator Brian Emmenis — who “witnessed the incident up shut” — stated, “He [O’Connell] went into the [landing] configuration, he rolled the aircraft … he was in a severe deep dive and went straight into the bottom. There was no signal of any try and eject. The group remained behind the limitations, completely surprised.”

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A full investigation by Airshow South Africa (ASSA) and The Civil Aviation Authority is now underway, per present officers.

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Footage of the incident captured by spectators exhibits the aircraft rotating the wrong way up mid-air and righting itself because it descended in the direction of land. Nonetheless, the aircraft didn’t seem to decelerate because it approached the touchdown and in the end disappeared within the distance, adopted by an explosion of fireside and a darkish cloud of smoke. Members of the gang will be heard yelling in shock.

Air present officers moreover famous that O’Connell’s efficiency was supposed to be “particularly an enormous second,” because the aircraft — which they famous was a “beloved struggle hen with deep historic significance for a lot of South Africans” — had not been flown at an air show in a few years.

PEOPLE reached out to ASSA, The Civil Aviation Authority and native police for touch upon Sunday, March 23, however didn’t obtain an instantaneous response.

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