Pilot dies after he crashes stolen plane into baby shower venue that his wife was attending in bid to kill her after furious row
A pilot crashed his plane in a clubhouse in Botswana in a bid to kill his wife, who was attending a baby shower there on Saturday, reports said.
The pilot, identified as Charl Viljoen, died in the horrific fireball crash after he deliberately crashed his plane into the Matsieng Flying Club, a few kilomemters north of the capital Gaborone. Viljoen died on the spot while his wife and around 50 people gathered there escaped unhurt.
Viljoen, a pilot with Kalahari Air Services and a South African citizen, is believed to have stormed out of a clubhouse after an argument with his wife before stealing a small aircraft .
The pilot allegedly made a number of threatening fly-pasts and threatening phone call to someone at the club, which reportedly prompted guests at the event to flee for their safety, according to the Daily Mail.
A footage of the incident shows that the plane was barely flying above the ground before it crashed into the venue near Mochudi.
The pilot was reportedly killed in the crash, however, his wife and other guests were unharmed. All of them had grown suspicious and left the clubhouse in time.
One witness of the incident, while talking to The Citizen, said: "They had a party at Matsieng, a baby shower, and that’s one of the Kalahari Air Services pilots and he had a fight with his wife there. He actually hit his wife, and everybody told him to f**k off because you don’t treat a woman like that."
The Matsieng Flying Club in Botswana released a statement saying that the pilot had been an "uninvited guest" at the function in its aerodrome. The club added that he made "a number of low level fly pasts," which sparked fear for the guests' safety and promoted them to evacuate the entire club.
Reports state that Viljoen called a friend at the party while he was in the cockpit, asking if his wife was still there. The pilot then made an "extreme low level run" which resulted in the aircraft crashing into the clubhouse. The crash destroyed the building and traffic control tower.
The flying club said that they believe the pilot did not have permission to fly the aircraft involved in the crash. The plane also destroyed 13 other vehicles which were parked nearby. However, except for the pilot, there was no casualty in the incident, according to the club.