Carryn-Ann Nel
Somerset West - The families of the two men who died in an air crash on Vergelegen wine estate on Tuesday spent about two hours at the accident site.
The men were the owner of the Interavia I-3 and a pilot.
Steve Heugh, 40, of Somerset West, was regarded by a fellow pilot as "one of South Africa's best aerobatics pilots".
He is survived by his wife, Sharon, and his three children, Ryan, eight, and twin daughters Lauren and Megan, six.
Gerald Sweidan, 49, of Durban, was a founder member and managing director of Pharos Medical Plan.
He is survived by his wife, Lynda, and his two children, Christopher, 22, and David,16.
Beverley Pender, a close friend of the Heugh family, said the two men had flown together before.
A witness said the men were apparently doing aerobatic stunts when the wings collapsed, one after the other.
Probe could take years
The aircraft wreckage was scattered across a large area.
The aircraft's two wings were found about 250m apart.
Civil Aviation Authority officials have already started investigating and a spokesperson said: "It is an incredibly comprehensive investigation and could take months, even years.
"Crash investigation teams go over the site. Many things play a role in the investigation, for instance the post-mortem on the bodies. Metal from the aircraft is sent off for analysis," he said.
Anneke van der Vyver of Somerset West police said on Wednesday that farm workers saw the aircraft before it crashed into the ground "with a loud bang".
She said: "The wings were visible. Police started looking for the rest of the wreckage. The bodies were in the aircraft and were mutilated."
Investigating officer Hannes Niemand was also in charge at an accident six years ago when Springbok aerobatics pilot Pieter Celliers, 53, and his son Charles, 22, were practising aerobatic stunts when their plane crashed.
According to Van der Vyver, local police and members of civil aviation are working jointly on the investigation.
A member of the farm's management team said on Wednesday: "The accident details are still vague, but there are definitely indications that the wings started coming off while the aircraft was still in the air."
According to him, the aircraft was flying at between 1 500m and 2 000m.
Pieter du Preez, chairperson of the Stellenbosch Flying Club, said the flight area was a safe one without adverse wind currents.
Must practise above 3 000m
"The route is not a highway nor popular as a thoroughfare among pilots," he said.
Civil aviation's ruling is that pilots doing aerobatics must be above 3 000m in rural areas.
"For safety reasons, they may not practise their stunts in residential areas.
"The area where the crash happened is regarded as a rural area, so the men were in the right place.
"The area is also an uncontrolled airspace where no permission is needed and where pilots are not monitored.
"The only condition is that pilots should obey the rules."