Cessna 172H Accident at Vlakspruit Farm Airstrip (ZS-ETL)

Overview and Flight Details On 30 December 2025, a Cessna 172H with registration ZS-ETL was conducting a training flight from Secunda Aerodrome (FASC) in Mpumalanga Province. The flight was operated by a student pilot under visual meteorological conditions (VMC) in accordance with Part 141 of the Civil Aviation Regulations (CAR) 2011. The aircraft was equipped with 39 US gallons of Avgas 100LL and had a total airframe time of 16,339.1 hours at the time of the occurrence. The pilot took off at approximately 0750Z, climbed to 6,500 feet, and proceeded to the general flying area southeast of FASC before heading to Vlakspruit Farm Airstrip for a simulated engine failure exercise. During the final approach to Runway 25, the pilot opted to perform a touch-and-go landing instead of the planned exercise. The aircraft bounced upon initial touchdown. On the second touchdown, the pilot lost directional control, and the aircraft veered off to the left of the runway. The nose wheel rolled over a grass-concealed ditch, causing the nose gear strut to break and the propeller to strike the ground. The aircraft subsequently nosed over. The pilot disembarked without injury. Substantial damage was sustained to the propeller, nose section, wings, tail fin, and empennage. The accident site was located at GPS coordinates 26°35'49.3 S, 29°17'18.8 E, at an elevation of 5,421 feet.