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This week's post will be different from my other Wednesday Walk posts. I normally try to focus on something positive, something beautiful in nature or something we can enjoy.
I have also included many activities from our area...such as the Comrades Marathon, the Amashova cycle race, etc...
But this week is a mixture of joy and sadness...excitement and tragedy...
Last week I shared photos of exciting aerobatic displays during the Virginia Air Show on August 10, 2025.
I also mentioned the pros and cons of entering the airport during the show, and the pros and cons to not entering the airport, rather staying on the outskirts, covering the area outside the airport...
One of the benefits of entering the airport, would be that you can hear all the commentaries and announcements during the show.
Learning About the Sad News as to Why There Were only Four Harvards Instead of Five.
As mentioned, the Virginia Air Show took place on August 10. What I didn't know, was that during the following week, the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals (NGAP) Global Summit was scheduled to take place from Tuesday, August 12, to Thursday, August 14.
I got to know about this after something happened during those four days following the air show.
Due to what happened (which I will get to soon) I started doing research again.
During this research, I found the following article, The Durban Virginia Air Show - Sunday 10 Aug 2025 on the website of Pilot's Post.
This is where I read about a sad announcement regarding The Flying Puma Lions - the team you saw in my photos from last week.
They made a second appearance later the day of which I will share some photos today. But regarding the second appearance, there was something I didn't know, as I couldn't hear the announcements.
I quote this directly from the post on pilotspost.com
"Next was a second display by the Puma Flying Lions. The display culminated in the missing man formation to honour well known pilot Captain Laurie Raath, father of one of the team, Dion Raath. Dion decided to fly despite the recent passing of his father in order to honour him in this way."
So, as I shared last week, they had four Harvards in the skies over the Virginia Airport, but they should have been five. The four Harvards that went up flew in "the missing man" formation, to honour Captain Laurie Raath, the father of one of the team members, Dion Raath, who was supposed to be flying with them.
I know this now, because I noticed on the day, that the Harvards were numbered 2, 3, 4, and 5. There was no #1. At the time I thought that maybe their performance for the day only needed four Harvards, so I didn't pay any further attention to it. But now it all makes sense.
I saw their second performance from a little further away as we moved to another spot.
We heard our youngest daughter and her family were camping out at a sports ground for the day from where they could also see the action. We found many families gathering there to enjoy the show, while the kiddies had lots of space to run around and have fun.
The next photo was just after their take-off for the second appearance. As they completed their first fly-by over the airport, they turned toward us and I managed to get this shot of them, approaching us from behind the trees before heading up north again.
A few minutes later they returned from the ocean's side again, and I managed to get this shot.
After some breath-taking manoeuvres I was able to catch all four of them just as they passed through this "gap" in he trees...lol.
After a few moments they flew by again, leaving a dramatic trail of smoke behind them...
...before the one broke away to start their next move.
But what caused me to find this information about them flying in the "missing man formation"?
It was the shocking news I heard over the news on the radio on Thursday, August 14.
Tragedy Struck.
On August 14, 2025, a pilot that took part in the Virginia Air Show, crashed into the ocean while doing a final display for the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals (NGAP) Global Summit. The summit was hosted at the Durban ICC (Durban International Conference Centre). According to the dailymail.co.uk it was linked to the air show.
WARNING: The above link to the Daily Mail contains video footage of the accident. Although it is blanked out just before impact, if you are sensitive to this kind of material, do not click on the first image in this article. There are also some photo clips from the video included in the article as well.
The accident happened just minutes before I heard the news announcement.
I immediately started following the news and doing research to find out what happened and who it was.
I heard about a man who was driving near the Durban beachfront, and saw the plane doing his stunts in the air. He pulled over to capture it on video to show to his kids as they didn't attend the show. As he started shooting the video, the plane started spiralling down toward the ocean.
I saw the video, and let me just say...it was horrifying!! My first question was whether he didn't have a parachute, but after seeing the video....there was no time for getting out with a parachute. It was all over within seconds...
But the pilot...who was the pilot?
It was Andrew Blackwood-Murray...
And with that, I quote again from the same post in Pilot's Post I mentioned earlier in this post. This time describing the Flying Puma Lion team just before their first appearance...
"Next up were airshow staples, the Puma Flying Lions in their North America Harvards or Texans as they are known in the United States (ZU-BEU, ZU-BET, ZU-BMC, ZU-BVK). The team comprised Ellis Levin, Arnie Meneghelli, Dion Raath and Andrew Blackwood-Murray. The iconic growling radial engines powered yet another display of precision formation aerobatics."
Yes, he was one of the four remaining pilots doing their thing in those Harvards you saw in my photos.
Just after the performance in the Harvards, he also went up in his own Extra EA-300LP (ZS-AEC), which left me breathless to say the least.
I quote again from the same post...
We then had the Nashua Extra Aerobatics display flown by Andrew Blackwood-Murray in the Extra EA-300LP (ZS-AEC), sporting Nashua colours. Andrew is a highly experienced aerobatic pilot and is a regular on the air show circuit.
And this is why I am saying, this air show will be one I will always remember with a mixture of excitement and sadness.
This incident took place on August 14, four days after the show.
At the time of publishing this post, debris and pieces of the wreckage have been recovered and the investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing. But the pilot, Andrew Blackwood Murray, has still not been found.
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