What happened
During an aerial demonstration at Cape Town Airport, a formation of three aircraft was performing maneuvers as part of an airshow. The lead aircraft, the Mercurius, alongside two other identical models, executed a low-altitude pass over the airfield before turning toward the west.
While flying in a V formation, the group encountered heavy cloud cover near Devil's Peak, situated approximately 15 km west of the airport. In the obscured conditions, all three aircraft impacted the mountain slope simultaneously. The impact resulted in the total destruction of every aircraft involved. There were no survivors among the 11 fatalities recorded from the incident.
Findings
Investigations into the accident determined that the primary factor leading to the crash was controlled flight into terrain while the formation was operating in low-visibility conditions.