Qantas on standby to evacuate pilots injured in South Africa

Two Qantas pilots critically injured in a crash involving a ­vintage plane in South Africa will be brought back to Australia.

A380 captain Douglas Haywood.

The two Qantas pilots critically injured in a crash involving a ­vintage plane in South Africa will be brought back to Australia as early as next week to continue their recovery.

Ross Kelly, a former Qantas pilot, and Douglas Haywood, a current A380 captain, remain in hospital in Johannesburg after the 64-year-old Convair-340 they were flying suffered engine failure and crashed into a factory in Pretoria last month.

One man, flight engineer Chris Barnard, was killed in the accident, while the 16 others on the plane and several in the factory were injured.

The Australian understands Qantas offered immediate assistance to the families of Mr Kelly and Mr Haywood following the crash and, pending a report on their conditions later this week, intends to bring them back to Australia as early as next week.

An email sent by the Australian and International Pilots ­Association to members yesterday afternoon said the conditions of both pilots had improved.

“Ross remains in a coma ­although it is no longer induced,” the email read.

“The full extent of his injuries won’t be known until he regains consciousness.

“Doug has periods of responding to stimuli; and one report suggested he was able to smile at a joke. Like Ross, the full extent of his injuries is yet to be determined.”

Members of each of their families remain in South Africa, and the AIPA said it had been a “long, tiring and stressful” few weeks for them.

Mr Kelly’s wife, Lyndal, was also injured in the crash, but is awake and in a stable condition.

The Convair-340 had just taken off from Wonderboom airport at 4.30pm on Tuesday, July 10, and was on a trial flight ahead of a long-haul journey to Lelystad Airport in The Neth­erlands, where it was to be housed in the Aviodrome aircraft ­museum.

The South African Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft had a certificate of airworthiness, although it was due to expire on August 15.

Video footage of the incident showed smoke and flames billowing from one engine.

A preliminary SACAA report into the crash is due to be released within 30 days of the crash, by August 10.

A spokesman for Qantas said, for privacy reasons, the airline could not comment on the conditions of the two men.