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R/£ I'm going down - pilot
June 01, 2004 Edition 1
Staff Reporter
The last words Ricky de Agrela heard from his friend Alan Honeyborne, the South African pilot whose microlight crashed in Central China last Friday, were that he was "going down".
Honeyborne, fully aware of the perilous situation he was in, told his friend just before the crash that his aircraft had lost a wing and was rapidly losing altitude.
De Agrela was piloting his microlight about 100m ahead of Honeyborne, when he heard the fateful words.
The two were travelling through 50 countries and across six continents during their 80 000km expedition. They left on December 17.
The global charity mission was financed by the government in honour of 10 years of democracy and the centenary celebrations of the Wright brothers' successful flight.
The pair had already travelled along the east of Africa, and across the Middle East, Malaysia and Australia.
Honeyborne crashed into Dongting lake in Hunan Province, central China.
Honeyborne's body was found in the lake close to Miluo City on Friday.
A memorial service will be held in Port Elizabeth on June 9.
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