A Red Bull Extra 300 aircraft crashed on October 12 during a Secunda airshow in Mpumalanga.
The engine appeared to stall when the pilot came out of a dive. The plane leveled out, made it to the ground and skidded seventy meters. When the plane caught fire, the pilot, Glen Dell, had to be helped from the cockpit. Reports indicated that he was airlifted and hospitalized at Mediclinic with burns and other injuries then transferred to Glenwood hospital/Netcare Sunninghill Hospital for burn care, but succumbed to the injuries.
The plane was a Extra 330LC, which is a Lycoming AEIO-580 powered two-seat competition aircraft, a type of Aerobatic monoplane, designed in 1987 by Walter Extra, an award-winning German aerobatic pilot and built by Extra Flugzeugbau.
Dell had 25,000 hours flying experience on 250 aircraft, held a zero foot aerobatic display waiver, which is awarded to pilots with proven competency and reputation reflecting display pilot expertise. In 2004, Glen finished first overall at the 6th Advanced World Aerobatic Championships, becoming the first South African to win. He had competed several times in the Red Bull Air Race but had announced he was returning to South African Airlines.
The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating the cause of the crash.
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Austrian Airlines flight OS-418 made a safe emergency landing at Vienna International Airport, Schwechat, Austria, on October 1st.