A 65-year-old pilot survived a crash landing at Kazungula Airstrip on Monday morning, walking away with only minor injuries.
David Huntley-Walker was alone in his private charter plane, a distinctive yellow fixed-wing aircraft with registration Z-PWW, based in Chinhoyi. He had taken off from Deka Airstrip in Hwange before the aircraft crash-landed at Kazungula.
Photographs from the scene showed the light sports aircraft overturned, resting precariously on its roof in the middle of the airstrip. Critical components of the wreckage were covered with tarpaulin to protect them from the elements.
Huntley-Walker’s son, David Huntley-Walker Jnr, who was present at the airstrip, confirmed that his father had survived the incident, sustaining only minor leg injuries.
He revealed that the aircraft overturned as his father attempted to brake during the crash landing.
The pilot was rushed to a local hospital, where he was reported to be in stable condition and receiving medical attention.
Takudzwa Chipadza, acting chief investigator of air accidents at the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, said an initial assessment of the incident had been carried out. He said:
“One of our investigators has been deployed to the Kazungula Airstrip to carry out an on-site investigation.
“What we know so far is that the aircraft, upon landing or during the landing roll, tipped over, basically it tipped over its nose and landed on its roof.
“There was one person on board, and no casualties were reported. The pilot got some medical attention, and he is ok.”
Chipadza said the aircraft is a light sports, non-type-certified model, and stressed that the investigation is still in its early stages.
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