Nosisa Majeke rushed to the scene of the helicopter crash in Lwandle, Strand, on Thursday to see if anyone survived, but all she could see were body parts scattered everywhere.
The pilot, the lone occupant of the helicopter, died in the crash at he Nomzamo High School grounds.
Majeke, 35, who lives near the school, said: “I was outside washing clothes and the helicopter had been circling for a while.
"All of a sudden it sounded close by. When I looked up I saw it rotating and coming down fast towards the school. The helicopter crashed into power cables, kept on rotating and crash-landed on an open field at the backyard of the school.”
According to ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring, “paramedics assessed the lone occupant and found that one man had sustained numerous injuries and showed no signs of life. Unfortunately, nothing more could be done and the man was declared dead by metro services.”
A teacher at the high school said: “At about 12, we had a meeting discussing the matric ball, which we will have tonight (yesterday).
"As we were talking the electricity went off and (I) heard a big bang that sounded like a bus on full speed crashing into a wall. We were all frightened and ran outside. We saw smoke coming from the backyard of the school and on our arrival a small part of the school grass was on fire and we saw the gruesome accident. There was nothing we could do, as we saw there was no sign of life.
"There was really nothing left from the helicopter and it crashed 10m from the school buildings and luckily the pupils were all at home, they did not see this.”
The teachers said they were told the pilot had hired the helicopter.
Spokesperson for the SA Civil Aviation Authority Kabelo Ledwaba said they are investigating the possible cause or causes of the crash involving a Robinson R44 helicopter.
“It has been reported that this was a local flight and that the helicopter took off from Cape Town International Airport at around 7am and (was) heading for Gansbaai.
"The completion of an investigation is marked by the release of a final accident report, which would also contain the possible cause or causes of the accident, as well as safety recommendations, if any, that are aimed at improving levels of safety and avoiding recurrence of the causal factor(s).” - Additional reporting by the Cape Times
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