There was no clarity yet on what caused the plane crash which killed six people in Germiston on Tuesday, the manager of Rand Airport said on Wednesday.

The plane crashed shortly after take off on Tuesday morning after telling the airport that it needed to make an emergency landing. Six people were killed — four from auditing firm Deloitte and two from Circuit Breaker Industries. They were en-route to Lesotho.

"I have listened to the tape and he (pilot Peter Woodstock) just indicated that he needed an emergency landing. Maybe he didn't have time to elaborate," said Anton Kruger.

After receiving the call the airport mobilised its emergency response team. The Piper Saratoga came down in a field near the Wesbank Raceway in Germiston and burst into flames.

Mahen Naidoo, Lesley Philpott, Mark Kriel, Gillian Brown, Michelle Rose-Martin and Peter Woodstock died in the crash about 500m from the N3.

"The only thing that happens now is we are waiting for a report from the Civil Aviation Authority," said Kruger.

Recent, similar crashes

In August a light aircraft crashed into a stream near the airport shortly after takeoff, killing one person and injuring two.

Earlier in October two Bloemfontein families were killed when the plane they were travelling in crashed in Barberton, Mpumalanga.

Aviation analyst Linden Birns said although it seemed as though there were more crashes, statistically the crash rate was decreasing.

"Although this is difficult to accept after an accident," he said.

He explained that the number of aircraft, pilots and flights registered in South Africa continue to grow so, "from a statistical point of view it is getting better".

Fatality rate

Last year about 40 people were killed in about 30 fatal crashes, out of an average of between 170 to 185 crashes a year. This number had remained static over the last six or seven years, he said.

Pilots have to resit their flight tests every year, are obliged to attend refresher courses on air laws, navigation, packaging of dangerous goods and must undergo a rigorous medical exam.

Pilots under 40 undergo the medical exam once a year, those over 40 every six months, he explained.

They also had to fly a minimum number of hours a year to remain current.

Aircraft go for maintenance checks at prescribed intervals to detect fatigue or damage that has been missed.

These conditions are enforced by the CAA but, said Birns, they can't check on every single pilot and plane all the time, likening it to traffic authorities not being able to monitor each driver and car.

"I can't point to a single weak link right now," he said.

Sapa